Robert  Hale   Bancroft! 


AN   INQUIRY 


THE  FORMATION 


WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 


"  And  harmonize  what  seems  amiss  to  flow 
As  severed  from  the  whole, 
And  dimly  understood." 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PAEEY  &  MCMILLAN,  PUBLISHERS. 

1859. 


b'  5- 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859. 

BY  C.  SHERMAN  &  SON, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


C.  SHERMAN  A  SON,  PRINTERS, 
Corner  of  Seventh  and  Cherry  Streets,  Philadelphia 


PREFACE. 


IF  the  title  of  this  paper  had  substituted  the  word  Authorship 
for  the  word  Formation,  it  would  have  contained  the  ambiguity 
which  it  is  the  object  of  the  Inquiry  to  clear  away.  There  are  not 
many  words  in  our  language  that  describe  a  greater  variety  of  ope 
rations  than  the  word  Author.  From  the  first  step  in  production, 
even  from  the  mandate  to  produce  a  work  of  any  kind,  to  the  perfect 
completion  of  the  work,  there  are  many  relations  to  it,  and  at  times 
several  contributions  to  it,  which  may  make  more  persons  than  one 
authors  of  it,  in  different  senses,  with  equal  justice  and  exclusiveness. 
And  only  something  short  of  this  is  the  word  Authorship ;  which, 
though  it  signifies  the  quality  of  being  an  author,  and  therefore 
may  comprehend  that  quality  in  regard  to  any  property  of  any  sub 
ject,  yet  seems  to  be  generally  confined  to  literary  works  or  compo 
sitions  in  writing,  and  to  admit  of  nothing  being  truly  predicated  of 
it,  except  in  this  relation.  The  word  Authorship  is  large  enough, 
however,  in  this  limited  application,  to  include  more  than  one  per 
son  as  possessing  this  quality  in  regard  to  the  same  thing ;  and  in 
the  rather  jealous  domain  of  literature,  if  different  persons  have 
contributed  to  the  same  written  composition,  it  sometimes  happens 
that  the  application  of  the  word  in  honor  of  one  rather  than  another 
of  them,  is  the  occasion  of  very  lively  disputes,  where  there  is  per 
haps  little  or  no  difference  of  opinion  about  the  respective  contribu 
tions  of  the  parties,  or  no  previous  analysis  to  ascertain  what  the 
respective  contributions  were.  This  word  has  therefore  been  care- 

&S181943 


IV  PREFACE. 


fully  excluded  from  the  title,  and  will  be  as  carefully  avoided  in 
the  Inquiry,  unless  with  some  attendant  definition  or  description,  to 
show  the  sense  in  which  it  is  used.  Undoubtedly  a  written  composi 
tion  may  have  been  so  much  the  mixed  work  of  two  persons,  that 
the  authorship  of  it  in  some  sense  may  be  justly  attributed  to  both. 
Where  the  contributions  are  well  discriminated,  the  respective  au 
thorships  may  be  attributed  to  each.  In  which  class  the  Farewell 
Address  will  fall,  or  whether  it  will  fall  into  either,  is  reserved  for 
the  judgment  of  the  reader,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Inquiry. 

The  writer's  aim  in  this  essay,  has  been  certainty  in  the  facts, 
and  accuracy  in  his  deductions  from  them.  He  has  therefore  scru 
pulously  endeavored  to  avoid  embellishment  in  either  of  these 
respects,  while  he  has  been  regardless  of  it  in  any  other.  He  hopes 
that  the  result  will  give  equal  relief  to  the  friends  of  Washington 
and  to  the  friends  of  Hamilton,  who  for  the  most  part  were  the 
same  persons  while  the  objects  of  their  regard  were  living,  some 
appearances  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  It  cannot  be  denied 
that  there  have  been  since,  as  there  were  in  the  previous  day,  seve 
ral  appearances  which  have  manifested  greater  favor  to  Washington 
and  less  to  Hamilton,  independently  of  the  pre-eminent  military  and 
patriotic  services  of  the  former;  and  that  these  appearances  still 
continue,  and  have  been  much  enlarged  ;  but  perhaps  with  this  dis 
tinction,  that  Washington  is  praised  more  and  followed  less,  while 
Hamilton  is  praised  less,  and,  at  least  in  the  great  mass  of  fiscal,  com 
mercial,  and  judicial  principles  and  arrangements,  which  he  recom 
mended  for  the  Treasury  and  for  the  country,  is  followed  more.  But 
the  probability,  nevertheless,  is,  that  the  friends  of  both,  as  supporters 
of  the  same  policy,  are  still  the  same  persons.  Their  number  will 
increase,  no  doubt,  from  day  to  day,  as  these  great  men  shall 
become  more  thoroughly  known  by  their  writings,  and  more  impar 
tially  compared  with  others ;  but  it  is  to  their  friends  only,  present 
and  to  come,  that  the  writer  can  promise  himself  to  supply  either 
facts  or  deductions  in  regard  to  the  Farewell  Address,  that  will  be 
of  any  considerable  interest. 


PREFACE.  V 

The  manner  in  which  Alexander  Hamilton's  connection  with  the 
Farewell  Address  of  Washington  has  been  occasionally  written  and 
spoken  about,  has  been  a  source  of  discomfort  to  many  persons  who 
have  a  great  admiration  for  that  remarkable  man ;  and  perhaps  of 
as  much  discomfort  from  the  bearing  of  these  remarks  upon  Wash 
ington,  as  from  their  bearing  upon  Hamilton.  To  all  persons  who 
possess,  in  the  same  degree  with  the  writer  of  this  paper,  a  profound 
veneration  for  the  whole  character  of  the  Father  of  his  Country, 
and  at  the  same  time  an  exalted  respect  for  the  intellectual  and  per 
sonal  qualities  of  Hamilton,  it  must  have  been  for  years  past  a 
cause  of  disturbance,  to  perceive  that  by  some  persons  the  composi 
tion  of  the  Address  has  been  regarded  either  as  an  unsupported  pre 
tension  on  the  side  of  Hamilton,  or  as  an  assistance  which  he  should 
have  taken  effectual  means  to  conceal  forever ;  and  by  others,  as  a 
transcript  by  Washington,  with  a  view  to  unneedful  honor,  of  what 
another  had  written,  fundamental  or  guiding  thoughts,  and  all. 

That  Washington,  like  other  executive  chiefs,  or  heads  of  mili- 
</tary  command,  consulted  his  ministers,  officers,  and  friends,  and  was 
''  sometimes  obliged  to  use  their  pens  for  the  expression  or  the  arrange- 


of  his  thoughts,  is  not  only  probable  but  certain.  He  left 
behind  him  some  traces  of  this  wise  practice,  and  it  was  more  than 
once  avowed  by  him ;  but  that  he  had  done  this  at  any  time  and 
under  any  circumstances,  with  such  an  appeal,  either  expressed  or 
understood,  as  would  reflect  upon  his  minister  or  friend  if  he  left  a 
trace  of  his  contributions  among  his  papers,  or  that  in  the  instance 
of  this  great  paper  he  had  cloaked  the  service  so  carefully  as  to 
imply  a  corresponding  duty  on  the  other  side  to  do  the  same,  for  the 
purpose  of  leaving  the  honors  of  the  entire  written  composition 
with  him,  is  a  thought  that  cannot  be  recalled  without  the  greatest 
repugnance,  from  both  its  aspects.  In  this  last  case,  the  character 
of  each  party  was  a  guarantee  that  whatever  was  asked  or  done 
was  properly  asked  and  done;  that  there  was  no  vain-glory  on 
either  side,  no  sense  of  humiliation  or  superiority,  no  aspiration 
for  the  honors  of  authorship  at  the  expense  of  either  truth  or  loy- 


VI  PREFACE. 

alty,  but  just  such  a  contribution  on  each  side,  if  there  were  two 
contributing  parties,  as  would  leave  to  the  principal  party  the  merit 
and  the  responsibility  of  the  fundamental  thoughts,  and  to  the  other 
the  merit  of  expanding,  defending,  and  presenting  them  in  the  most 
suitable  form,  a  task  which  public  engagements,  or  a  particular  turn 
of  mind,  may  have  made  unusual  to  the  one,  while  it  was  habitual 
and  easy  to  the  other  ;  and  that  no  sense  of  honor  had  been  wounded, 
nor  any  pretension  of  vanity  consulted,  by  leaving  the  traces  of  a 
joint  co-operation,  just  as  each  party  has  left  them.  Such  as  the 
character  of  both  Washington  and  Hamilton  gave  assurance  that 
the  co-operation,  if  it  took  place,  would  be,  such  upon  very  full 
examination  of  the  facts,  it  turns  out  to  have  been.  The  reader 
will  probably  regard  the  character  of  each,  after  he  has  considered 
the  proofs,  with  as  much  esteem  and  admiration  as  he  felt  before  the 
fact  of  co-operation  was  known  to  him.  It  is  not  improbable  that 
he  will  regard  it  with  even  greater. 

A  recent  perusal  of  the  correspondence  between  Washington  and 
Hamilton,  in  regard  to  the  Farewell  Address,  has  led  to  the  prepa 
ration  of  this  paper.  Part  of  that  correspondence,  the  letters  of 
Washington,  has  been  in  print  for  some  years,  and  is  to  be  found  in 
the  Congress  edition  of  Hamilton's  works.  The  letters  of  Hamilton 
to  Washington  have  not  been  heretofore  printed.  The  writer  did  not 
keep  a  copy  of  any  of  them.  The  originals  were  found  among  the 
papers  of  Washington,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  copies  of  them 
have  been  supplied  by  Mr.  Sparks,  the  Editor  of  Washington's  writ 
ings,  and  the  author  of  his  biography,  to  Mr.  John  C.  Hamilton,  the 
author  of  Hamilton's  Life,  and  of  "The  History  of  the  Republic," 
now  in  course  of  publication,  who  has  given  me  permission  to  print 
them.  I  am  indebted  to  the  same  gentleman  for  permission  to  print 
certain  other  papers,  derived  by  him  from  the  kindness  of  Mr. 
Sparks,  which  enable  me  to  identify  the  original  or  preparatory 
draught  by  Washington  of  a  Farewell  Address,  as  the  same  which 
he  sent  to  Hamilton  on  the  15th  May,  1796,  and  which  became  the 
basis  of  Hamilton's  work.  The  permission  of  Mr.  Hamilton  enables 


PREFACE.  Vll 

me  to  place  a  copy  of  this  preparatory  paper  in  an  appendix.  The 
originals  of  Hamilton's  letters  to  Washington,  and  Washington's 
original  draught,  were,  I  understand,  deposited  in  the  office  of  the 
Department  of  State,  after  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Sparks's  great 
work ;  but  Mr.  Hamilton  informs  me,  that  by  order  of  Mr.  Marcy, 
when  Secretary  of  State,  diligent  search  was  made,  at  Mr.  Hamil 
ton's  request,  and  these  letters  and  draught  were  not  found. 

For  the  greater  convenience  of  the  reader,  I  have  appended  to  this 
Essay,  1.  A  copy  of  Washington's  original  or  preparatory  draught 
of  a  Farewell  Address ;  2.  A  copy  of  Hamilton's  "  Abstract  of 
Points  to  form  an  Address  ;"  3.  A  copy  of  Hamilton's  original 
draught  of  an  Address ;  4.  Washington's  Farewell  Address,  conform 
ing  to  the  record  of  it  in  the  Department  of  State ;  and  5.  A  copy 
of  Washington's  autograph  paper,  from  which  the  Farewell  Address 
was  printed.  I  should  not  have  felt  at  liberty  to  use  for  this  pur 
pose  the  reprint  of  that  autograph  paper  in  the  appendix  to  the  fifth 
volume  of  Mr.  living's  Life  of  Washington;  but  I  have  been  favored, 
through  Mr.  Hamilton,  with  a  permission  to  reprint  it,  by  its  pro 
prietor,  Mr.  Lenox,  who  printed  a  very  fine  edition  of  it  for  private 
distribution.  The  pagings  in  Mr.  Irving's  appendix,  are  noted  in 
this  reprint,  to  facilitate  a  reader  in  tracing  my  references  to  that 
appendix. 

HORACE  BINNEY. 

PHILADELPHIA,  August  9,  1859. 


AN  INQUIRY,  ETC. 


FROM  the  first  publication  of  Washington's  Farewell 
Address,  in  September,  1796,  it  has  never  been  universally 
agreed,  that  the  paper  was  written  altogether  by  the  illus 
trious  man  whose  name  is  subscribed  to  it. 

The  first  intimations  of  doubt  on  this  point,  were  confined 
to  private  conversation  or  society,  and  with  the  admission 
that  the  paper  spoke  Washington's  well-known  sentiments, 
and  was  not  above  the  high  intellectual  capacity  he  had 
uniformly  exhibited ;  but  the  doubt  was  excused  by  sugges 
tions,  that  the  paper  wanted  the  presence  of  Washington's 
characteristic  forms  of  expression  and  construction,  and  that 
it  manifested  more  systematic  arrangement  and  connection, 
with  fuller  argumental  supports,  than  were  usual  in  his 
writings. 

This  language  was  confined,  also,  to  comparatively  few 
persons,  as  only  a  few  were,  at  that  time,  familiar  with 
Washington's  writings.  But  in  subsequent  years,  as  this 
familiarity  was  enlarged,  and  as  rival  or  unfriendly  sentiments 
towards  Washington  and  some  of  his  confidential  friends, 
were  more  disposed  to  reveal  themselves,  the  doubts  grew 
stronger;  and,  as  special  facts  bearing  upon  the  question 


10  EARLY   AND   LATER  OPINIONS 

came  out  from  time  to  time,  they  became  more  general. 
At  length  there  arose  a  popular  repugnance  to  the  opinion, 
which  in  some  degree  suppressed  further  curiosity  and 
inquiry.  The  deep  and  undivided  reverence  of  the  people 
for  Washington,  was  unwilling  to  learn,  that,  even  on  an 
occasion  of  ceremony,  he  had  worn  any  vesture  but  his  own. 
It  was,  perhaps,  a  prejudice ;  but  it  was  a  natural  one,  in 
such  a  country  as  ours  was,  and  some  of  it  may  still  remain. 
The  lapse  of  more  years,  however,  and  the  express  mention 
of  Alexander  Hamilton's  name  as  an  assistant  in  the  work, 
opened  the  inquiry  again, — always  in  the  most  deferential 
manner  towards  Washington,  but  with  new  features,  tend 
ing  to  diversify  opinions  upon  the  matter,  and  in  a  certain 
degree  to  embitter  them;  until  finally  three  varieties  of 
opinion  were  found  to  prevail,  none  of  them  strictly  ac 
cordant  with  the  absolute  truth,  yet  all  of  them  professing 
the  most  elevated  respect  for  Washington.  They  probably 
divide  the  country  at  the  present  time.  It  has  been  a  re 
markable  test  of  the  universal  admiration  and  love  of 
Washington  among  us,  that  no  one  of  these  opinions  has 
ever  disclosed  or  involved  the  least  abatement  in  the  love  of 
any  of  his  countrymen  towards  this  immortal  man,  whose 
priority  in  all  hearts  has  become  the  established  heritage  of 
his  name  forever. 

One  of  these  varieties  of  opinion,  existing  perhaps  as 
early  as  any,  among  persons  in  immediate  proximity  to 
Washington,  but  not  then  revealed  to  any  extent,  and 
which  had  no  special  basis  of  fact  whatever  for  it,  was,  that 
the  Farewell  Address  was  a  transcript  by  Washington  of 
Hamilton's  thoughts  as  well  as  language.  Those  who  en 
tertained  this  opinion,  derived  it,  probably,  from  what  they 


OF  THE  AUTHORSHIP  OF  THE  ADDRESS.  11 

erroneously  thought  was  Washington's  frequent  practice  in 
his  public  writings.* 

Another  variety,  with  more,  but  still  incomplete,  know 
ledge  of  the  facts  to  sustain  it,  and  with  a  natural  partiality 
to  incline  it  to  assign  the  largest  contribution  of  every 
ingredient  to  Washington,  though  without  undervaluing 
either  the  talents  or  the  direct  contributions  of  Hamilton, 
regarded  the  Address  as  the  joint  work  of  both,  but  the 
preponderant  work  of  Washington  in  all  respects — Wash 
ington's  style  in  its  language,  as  much  as  his  judgment  in 
the  plan,  or  his  sentiments  in  the  principles.  It  conceded 
to  Hamilton  a  considerable  share,  but  left  the  contributing 
shares  of  each  of  the  parties  perfectly  indefinite. 

The  third  variety  of  opinion  was  that  of  a  very  eminent 
and  excellent  man,  from  whom  it  passed  to  others,  with  a 
result  as  erroneous  as  the  opinion  first  noticed,  and  more 
erroneous  than  the  second,  being  at  the  same  time  more 
definite  in  the  wrong  direction. f 

This  eminent  man,  perfectly  acquainted  with  one  impor 
tant  fact  in  the  case,  bearing  upon  Hamilton's  connection 
with  the  Address,  and  entirely  unacquainted  with  all  the 
rest,  reasoned  from  this  fact  as  if  it  had  been  the  only  fact 
in  the  case,  and  closely  restricted  the  bearing  of  it,  by  an 
opinion  of  his  own,  which  certainly  was  not  Washington's, 
that  the  Farewell  Address  was  in  some  emphatic  way,  "  a 
"personal  act — of  choice,  not  of  official  duty — and  was  so 


*  This  thought  may  be  seen  in  a  remarkable  letter  by  the  elder  President  Adams,  to 
Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  dated  28th  August,  1811.  "  Works  of  John  Adams,"  vol.  ix,  p.  639. 

t  John  Jay.  Letter  to  the  Hon.  Richard  Peters,  29th  March,  1811.  Life  and 
Writings  of  John  Jay,  vol.  ii,  p.  336. 


12  MR.    JAY'S   ABSTRACT   OPINION. 

"  connected   with    other    obvious    considerations,    that    he 
"  (Washington)  only,  could  with  propriety  write  it." 

This  positive  and  explicit  opinion,  which  resulted  in  the 
conclusion,  not  directly  expressed,  but  necessarily  implied 
by  the  whole  letter  from  which  the  above  extract  is  taken, 
that  Washington  was  the  only  writer  of  the  Farewell  Ad 
dress,  and  Hamilton  no  more  than  the  corrector  or  emen- 
dator  of  Washington's  original  draught,  has  had  decisive 
weight  with  a  great  many  persons ;  and  from  the  character 
of  the  writer,  and  the  solemnity  with  which  he  expressed 
his  opinion,  and  gave  the  details  of  his  personal  knowledge, 
could  not  but  have  such  weight.  It  inclined  the  scale, 
before  the  opposing  evidence  could  be  fairly  weighed  against 
it ;  and  it  will  incline  it,  until  that  evidence  is  exhibited  and 
deliberately  weighed. 

From  the  time  that  this  letter  was  published,  in  1833, 
and,  in  only  a  less  extensive  degree,  from  the  time  of  its 
date,  in  1811,  the  question  assumed  an  invidious  bearing 
towards  Alexander  Hamilton,  and  on  the  other  hand,  towards 
the  principal  party  also ;  and  has  at  length  become  almost  a 
moral  question,  involving  a  breach  of  faith  or  honor  on 
Hamilton's  part,  and  of  some  assumption  of  another's  merit 
on  the  part  of  Washington,  without  the  countenance  of  any 
other  circumstance  in  their  respective  lives  to  justify  or 
excuse  an  imputation  of  this  nature. 

In  a  certain  state  of  opinion  respecting  the  authorship  of 
the  Farewell  Address,  it  would  have  been  agreeable  to  concur 
in  a  part  of  Mr.  Sparks's  remarks  on  this  subject,  in  the 
twelfth  volume  of  Washington's  Writings,  of  which  he  was 
the  editor ;  "  that  the  manner  in  which  that  Address  origi- 
"  nated  is  one  of  small  moment,  since  its  real  importance 


MR.  SPARKS' s  OPINION.  13 

"  consists  in  its  being  known  to  contain  the  sentiments  of 
"  Washington,  uttered  on  a  solemn  occasion,  and  designed 
"  for  the  benefit  of  his  countrymen."  There  is  no  reason 
to  question  the  propriety  of  this  remark ;  nor  would  there 
be  any  indisposition  to  stop  there,  if  Mr.  Sparks  and  others 
had  stopped  there.  But  Mr.  Sparks  has  proceeded  in  the 
same  place  to  examine  the  question  of  origin  to  some  extent, 
and  has  expressed  his  opinions  upon  the  whole  subject, 
generally  with  candor,  and  always  with  a  fair  estimate  of 
Hamilton's  intellectual  powers,  and  of  his  special  aid  in  the 
preparation  of  this  Address ;  but  without  making  all  the 
discriminations  which  the  evidence  supports,  and  with  rather 
a  measurable  valuation  of  the  Address  itself  as  a  literary  com 
position,  so  as  to  leave  the  merits  of  it  on  a  less  elevated  grade 
than  they  ought  to  occupy,  and  the  relative  contributions  of 
both  Washington  and  Hamilton  to  the  work,  in  greater  ob 
scurity  than,  now  at  least,  there  is  any  necessity  for.  Mr. 
Sparks  also  has  explained,  or  excused,  this  obscurity,  by  an 
implication  that  in  some  degree  tarnishes  the  honor  of 
Hamilton ;  for,  as  Hamilton  did  preserve,  that  is  to  say,  did 
not  destroy,  the  original  draught  of  the  address  he  had  pre 
pared  for  Washington,  and  did  likewise  preserve  the  original 
letters  of  Washington  upon  that  subject,  as  well  as  upon 
others,  it  is  certainly  a  tacit  reflection  upon  Hamilton's 
honor,  for  having  done  this,  to  say,  "  that  in  a  case  of  so 
44  confidential  a  nature,  and  in  which  his  honor  was  so  much 
44  concerned,  it  may  be  supposed  that  Hamilton  would  vot 
44  preserve  every  communication  that  he  received."  All  this 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  Sparks  has  been,  perhaps  inadvertently 
and  unconsciously,  colored  or  promoted,  by  reflections  from 
another  paper  previously  published,  to  which  he  refers,  the 


14  UNEASY    STATE    OF    THE    QUESTION. 

letter  of  Mr.  Jay  to  Judge  Peters ;  which  ought  to  have  had 
no  such  effect,  and  can  have  none  at  all  at  this  day,  when 
the  facts  are  more  accurately  known.  It  is  not  reasonable, 
therefore,  in  this  state  of  Mr.  Sparks's  impressions,  to  abide 
by  the  general  proposition  he  seems  to  espouse,  though  it  is 
not  very  clearly  stated,  that  Washington  himself  was  the 
composer  or  writer  of  the  paper,  though  with  important 
assistance  from  Hamilton.  It  might  have  been  left  there, 
but  for  this  reflection  upon  Hamilton's  name ;  for  the  ques 
tion  is  really  of  no  moral  importance,  however  interesting  it 
may  be  as  a  matter  of  historical  or  literary  curiosity;  and 
Hamilton's  reputation  as  a  writer  and  thinker,  on  questions  of 
public  policy,  requires  nothing  to  be  added  to  it,  and  can 
gain  nothing  by  a  decision  on  this  point  in  his  favor,  which 
it,  may  not  very  safely  do  without.  But  those  who  honor 
Hamilton's  patriotism  and  pure  integrity,  and  his  elevated 
character  in  all  respects,  cannot  be  contented  to  let  any 
obscurity  rest  upon  the  point,  which  there  is  light  enough 
in  the  evidence  to  remove ;  especially  under  an  hypothesis, 
that  Hamilton,  from  motives  of  honor,  did  not  preserve,  that 
is  to  say,  did  destroy,  papers  which  would  have  made  the 
point  clear,  while  at  the  same  time  he  did  not  destroy,  that 
is  to  say,  did  preserve,  the  principal  paper  by  which  his 
claims,  whatever  they  may  be,  are  to  be  determined.  This 
is  an  uneasy  state  of  the  question  to  many  persons.  It 
is  quite  possible  that  Mr.  Sparks  did  not  perceive  the 
full  bearing  of  his  remark;  and  it  is  possible,  also, 
that  the  friends  of  Hamilton  have  seen  more  point  in 
the  remark  than  Mr.  Sparks  intended  to  give  it.  But 
it  has  by  this,  and  like  causes,  become  a  duty,  both 
to  Hamilton  and  Washington,  to  go  over  the  whole  matter 


THE  WRITER'S  GENERAL  COURSE  IN  REGARD  TO  IT.         15 

upon  original  grounds,  which  is  the  direct  object  of  this 
Inquiry. 

It  need  not  be  said — for  this  will  become  obvious  by  the 
whole  cast  of  these  remarks — that  my  reverence  for  Wash 
ington,  my  admiration  of  him,  my  interest  in  his  true  glory, 
even  in  his  honor  in  all  that  regards  the  Farewell  Address, 
are  not,  and  never  have  been,  inferior  to  those  of  any  person 
I  have  known ;  and  at  the  same  time,  that  none  of  these 
sentiments  impair  those  I  have  always  entertained  in  the 
like  respects  for  Hamilton.  It  will  only  be  necessary  for 
me  to  follow  the  greater  interests  of  truth,  to  show  my  per 
sonal  admiration  of  both,  and  to  do  justice  to  each  in  the 
matter  of  this  celebrated  paper. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  make  these  statements  as  plain  and 
clear  as  possible ;  abating  none  of  their  plainness  and  clear 
ness  by  a  vain  effort  for  literary  effect.  This  may,  perhaps, 
take  more  space  than  may  be  agreeable  to  all;  but  those 
who  have  an  interest  in  the  question,  will  not  be  unwil 
ling,  perhaps,  to  give  the  necessary  time  and  attention  to 
it,  if  they  shall  perceive  that  the  examination  is  conducted 
in  a  calm  and  impartial  spirit,  with  an  orderly  arrangement 
and  an  ample  citation  of  proofs,  a  careful  deduction  of  infer 
ences,  and  a  full  concentration  of  all  these  influences  upon 
the  published  Farewell  Address  of  Washington. 

I  shall  be  under  a  necessity,  in  order  to  avoid  a  heavy 
mass  of  quotations,  of  asking  the  reader  to  refer  to  the 
printed  and  published  works  I  shall  name,  if  he  desires 
more  full  information  than  my  extracts  will  give  him,  or 
wishes  to  test  my  accuracy  in  making  them ;  and  when  I 
shall  offer  a  comparison  between  the  original  draught  of  an 
address  by  Hamilton,  and  the  Farewell  Address  signed  and 


16  WASHINGTON'S  PURPOSE,  NOT  TO  BE  THE  ONLY 

dated  by  Washington,  on  the  17th  September,  1796,  and 
published  by  him  to  the  country,  I  shall  ask  the  reader  to 
make,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  clauses  collated  in 
the  Inquiry,  the  entire  collation  or  comparison  himself, 
with  the  two  papers  under  his  eye,  to  save  me  from  exhibit 
ing,  what  some  persons  might  deem  an  invidious  parallel,  if 
they  were  placed  side  by  side,  in  opposite  columns  or  pages. 

It  seems  worthy  of  particular  remark  at  the  outset,  that 
Washington  does  not  appear  to  have  intended,  at  any  time, 
to  be  the  unassisted  composer  or  writer  of  the  Farewell 
Address.  Though  it  was  not,  strictly  speaking,  an  official 
paper,  nor  a  state  paper,  appertaining  to  the  regular  duties 
of  his  political  office,  and  for  which  he  might,  and  usually 
did,  refer  to  his  official  ministers  and  advisers,  and  some 
times  to  approved  friends,  for  thoughts  and  clauses,  that  he 
might  consider  and  apply,  or  modify  or  reject,  at  his  plea 
sure, — it  was  a  paper,  in  his  regard,  of  a  higher  grade,  and 
calling  for  even  more  consideration,  as  it  was  to  be  in  the 
nature  of  a  testamentary  declaration  of  his  political  prin 
ciples,  as  well  as  to  impart  his  counsels,  and  to  express  his 
personal  thanks  and  valediction  to  the  whole  people  of  the 
United  States. 

The  original  conception,  the  fundamental  thought,  par- 
pose,  or  design  of  this  paper,  was  Washington's ;  his  first, 
and  it  would  seem  his  only,  upon  separate  consideration 
and  deliberation,  until  the  purpose  was  matured,  when  he 
communicated  it  to  another,  who  approved  it.  That  design 
comprehended,  in  addition  to  his  cordial  and  thankful  fare 
well,  upon  retiring  from  civil  life,  a  recommendation  of 
various  patriotic  counsels  and  admonitions  to  his  country 
men,  which  should  bring  before  them  the  blessings  of  their 


WRITER  :    BUT    THE   DESIGN,    HIS.  17 

union  under  a  federal  government,  the  perfect  adaptation  of 
their  diversified  soil  and  climate  to  such  a  union,  the  advan 
tages  of  their  mutual  dependence  and  intercommunity,  their 
common  relation  to  foreign  nations,  and  the  dangers  of  either 
local  or  foreign  partialities  and  antipathies,  and  of  party 
spirit  in  all  its  shapes,  whether  of  combinations  to  control  or 
obstruct  the  action  of  regular  authority,  or  of  pervading 
jealousy  to  weaken  its  effects,  or  of  virulent  opposition  and 
censure,  to  discourage  and  drive  from  public  office  the 
faithful  servants  who  had  been  selected  to  administer  it. 
In  a  word,  the  advantages  and  the  dangers  of  the  whole 
country,  and  the  maintenance  of  the  Union,  under  a  wise 
and  equal  administration,  as  the  best  security  and  defence 
of  the  public  happiness,  were  to  be  his  theme ;  and  no  man 
ever  suggested  a  nobler  theme,  or  was  more  worthy  by  his 
patriotism,  or  so  well  entitled  by  his  services,  to  make  it  the 
subject  of  his  final  discourse  and  instruction.  It  was  a 
paper  far  above  all  ordinary  official  or  state  papers,  was  re 
lated  to  topics  as  high  or  higher,  involving  equal  or  greater 
responsibility,  addressed  to  greater  numbers,  and  asking  a 
perpetual  remembrance  by  the  people,  as  they  should  tender 
their  political  existence. 

That  Washington  ought  to  have  thought  that  such  an 
address  was  so  personal,  or  "so  connected  with  other  obvious 
"  considerations,"  that  he  only  "  could  with  propriety  write 
"  it,"  is  a  pure  fancy,  if  we  take  in  the  whole  of  Wash 
ington's  thought.  Instead  of  such  considerations  being 
"  obvious,"  they  are  not  even  discoverable.  No  satisfactory 
reason  can  be  given  for  the  proposition,  that  would  not  have 
made  it  his  duty  to  write  everything  that  purported  to 
express  his  personal  sentiments,  whether  official  or  unoffi- 

2 


18  WASHINGTON'S  LETTER  TO  MADISON. 

cial — his  speeches  to  Congress,  and  everything  emanating 
from  his  public  position.  No  reason  of  any  kind  was  given 
for  it  by  Mr.  Jay,  in  the  place  where  it  was  first  announced. 
Upon  the  same  hypothesis,  whatever  it  may  have  been,  he 
ought  not  to  have  asked  for  thoughts,  or  revision  and  cor 
rection  for  his  own  draught  of  this  paper,  or  for  any  assist 
ance  whatever,  which  was  the  very  thing  that  was  asked  of 
him  who  has  made  the  criticism ;  and  this  would  bring  the 
Address  to  a  schoolboy  exercise,  that  was  to  try  Washing 
ton's  progress  in  composition,  and  to  bring  dishonor  upon 
him,  if  he  borrowed  a  feather,  or  a  feather's  weight,  from 
anybody  else. 

It  is  sufficient,  however,  to  know  that  this  thought  was 
not  Washington's  thought,  upon  this  or  any  other  occasion 
of  public  concern.  He  thought  the  contrary,  clearly  and 
constantly,  in  regard  to  the  Farewell  Address.  He  thought 
it  a  year  or  more  before  the  end  of  his  first  term  of  office  as 
President ;  and  he  thought  it  till  the  matter  was  consum 
mated,  about  six  months  before  the  end  of  his  last  term. 
By  a  letter  dated  the  20th  May,  1792,  he  first  opened  the 
subject  freely  to  Mr.  Madison. 

His  letter,  and  Mr.  Madison's  reply,  and  the  draught  of  a 
Farewell  Address  prepared  by  Madison,  at  Washington's 
request,  appear  in  the  twelfth  volume  of  "  The  Writings  of 
George  Washington,"  edited  by  Jared  Sparks,  in  pages  382 
to  390.  I  will  present  a  summary  of  Washington's  letter, 
and  some  extracts  from  it,  in  this  place. 

After  saying  that  he  was  unable  to  dispose  his  mind  to  a 
longer  continuation  in  the  office  he  held,  and  that  he  looked 
forward  with  the  fondest  and  most  ardent  wishes  to  spend 
the  remainder  of  his  days,  which  he  could  not  expect  to  be 


WASHINGTON'S  LETTER  TO  MADISON.  19 

long,  in  ease  and  tranquillity, — and  saying  further,  that 
nothing,  but  a  conviction  that  by  declining  the  chair  of 
government,  it  would  involve  the  country  in  serious  disputes 
respecting  the  Chief  Magistrate,  could  induce  him  to  relin 
quish  the  determination  he  had  formed,  Washington  pro 
ceeded  to  say  as  follows : — 

"  Under  these  impressions,  then,  permit  me  to  reiterate  the 
"  request  I  made  to  you  at  our  last  meeting,  namely,  to  think  of 
"  the  proper  time  and  best  mode  of  announcing  the  intention  ;  and 
"  that  you  would  prepare  the  latter."  .  .  .  "I  would  fain  carry  my 
"  request  to  you  farther  than  is  asked  above,  although  I  am  sensible 
"  that  your  compliance  with  it  must  add  to  your  trouble ;  but  as 
"  the  recess  may  afford  you  leisure,  and  I  flatter  myself  you  have 
"  dispositions  to  oblige  me,  I  will,  without  apology,  desire  (if  the 
"  measure  in  itself  should  strike  you  as  proper,  or  likely  to  produce 
"  public  good,  or  private  honor)  that  you  would  turn  your  thoughts 
"to  a  valedictory  address  from  me  to  the  public,  expressing,  in 
"  plain  and  modest  terms,  that,  having  been  honored  with  the  Presi- 
"  dential  chair,  and  to  the  best  of  my  abilities  contributed  to  the 
"  organization  and  administration  of  the  government — that  having 
"  arrived  at  a  period  of  life  when  the  private  walks  of  it,  in  the 
"  shades  of  retirement,  become  necessary,  and  will  be  most  pleasing 
"to  me ; — (and  as  the  spirit  of  the  government  may  render  a  rota- 
"  tion  in  the  elective  officers  of  it  more  congenial  with  the  ideas  [the 
"  people  have]  of  liberty  and  safety*) — that  I  take  my  leave  of  them 


*  I  possess  a/ac  simile  of  Washington's  letter  of  20th  May,  1792,  to  Mr.  Madison,  to 
which,  in  this  place,  the  copy  in  Mr.  Sparks's  Appendix  does  not  literally  conform.  I 
do  not  vouch  for  this  fac  simile,  though  the  resemblance  to  Washington's  handwriting, 
which  is  familiar  to  me,  is  perfect;  and  the  copy  in  Mr.  Sparks's  Appendix,  in  other 
respects,  conforms  to  it.  The  clause,  in  the/ac  simile  to  which  I  refer,  is  as  follows, 
without  marks  of  parenthesis,  but  beginning  where  the  first  mark  of  parenthesis  in  Mr. 
Sparks's  copy,  which  I  follow,  begins,  after  the  words  "  pleasing  to  me  ;'' — "and  the  spirit 
"  of  the  government  may  render  a  rotation  in  the  elective  officers  of  it  more  congenial  with 


20  WASHINGTON'S  LETTER  TO  MADISON. 


"  as  a  public  man,  and,  in  bidding  them  adieu,  retaining  no  other 
"concern  than  such  as  will  arise  from  fervent  wishes  for  the  pros- 
"  perity  of  my  country,  I  take  the  liberty  of  my  departure  from 
"civil  [life],  as  I  formerly  did  at  my  military  exit,  to  invoke  a 
"  continuation  of  the  blessings  of  Providence  upon  it,  and  upon  all 
"  those  who  are  the  supporters  of  its  interests,  and  the  promoters 
"of  harmony,  order,  and  good  government."  .  .  .  "That,  to  im- 
"  press  these  things,  it  might,  among  other  topics,  be  observed" — 

and  then  the  letter  proceeds  to  state,  and  very  briefly  de- 
velope,  four  topics,  which,  with  very  little  variation  of 
Washington's  words,  may,  in  his  own  order,  he  represented 
as  follows:  1.  That  we  are  all  children  of  the  same  country, 
great  and  rich  in  itself,  and  capable  and  promising  to  he  as 
prosperous  and  happy  as  any  which  the  annals  of  history  have 
brought  to  view ;  and  that  our  interest,  however  diversified 
in  local  or  smaller  matters,  is  the  same  in  all  the  great  and 
essential  concerns  of  the  nation.  2.  That  the  extent  of  our 
country,  the  diversity  of  our  climate  and  soil,  and  the  various 
productions  of  the  States,  are  such  as  to  make  one  part  not  only 
convenient,  but  indispensable  to  other  parts,  and  may  render 
the  whole  one  of  the  most  independent  nations  in  the  world. 
3.  That  the  government,  being  the  work  of  our  hands,  with 
the  seeds  of  amendment  engrafted  in  the  Constitution,  may, 
by  wisdom,  good  dispositions,  and  mutual  allowances,  aided 


"  their  ideas  of  liberty  and  safety,  that  I  take  my  leave  of  them  as  a  public  man,''  £c. 
I  have  heard,  and  have  no  reason  to  doubt,  that  the  fac  simile  was  made  from  the  ori 
ginal  letter,  which  came  from  a  member  of  Mr.  Madison's  family,  after  Mr.  Madison's 
death.  The  word  [life]  within  brackets  is  subject  to  my  preceding  remark ;  it  is  not 
in  the/ac  simile.  Indeed,  this  manner  of  bracketing  words  in  a  copy,  is  understood,  1 
believe,  to  be  an  intimation  that  the  original  does  not  contain  the  bracketed  word  or 
words. 


WASHINGTON'S  LETTER  TO  MADISON.  21 

by  experience,  be  brought  as  near  to  perfection  as  any 
human  institution  has  ever  been;  and,  therefore,  that  the 
only  strife  should  be,  who  should  be  foremost  in  facilitating, 
and  finally  accomplishing,  such  great  objects,  by  giving  every 
possible  support  and  cement  to  the  Union.  4.  And  here 
Washington's  full  words  are  extracted:  "that  however 
"  necessary  it  may  be  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  over  public 
"  servants  and  public  measures,  yet  there  ought  to  be  limits 
"to  it;  for  suspicions  unfounded,  and  jealousies  too  lively, 
"  are  irritating  to  honest  feelings,  and  oftentimes  are  pro- 
"  ductive  of  more  evil  than  good." 

Then  coming  more  generally  to  the  office  Madison  was 
asked  to  perform,  the  letter  says : — 

"  To  enumerate  the  various  subjects  which  might  be  introduced 
"  into  such  an  address,  would  require  thought,  and  to  mention  them 
"  to  you  would  be  unnecessary,  as  your  own  judgment  will  compre- 
"  hend  all  that  will  be  proper.  Whether  to  touch  specifically  any 
"  of  the  exceptionable  parts  of  the  Constitution,  may  be  doubted. 
"  All  that  I  shall  add,  therefore,  at  present,  is,  to  beg  the  favor  of 
"  you  to  consider,  first,  the  propriety  of  such  an  address ;  secondly, 
"  if  approved,  the  several  matters  which  ought  to  be  contained  in 
"  it ;  thirdly,  the  time  it  should  appear,  that  is,  whether  at  the 
"  declaration  of  my  intention  to  withdraw  from  the  service  of  the 
"  public,  or  to  let  it  be  the  closing  act  of  my  administration,  which 
"will  end  with  the  next  session  of  Congress." 

There  is  one  more  clause  in  the  letter,  the  final  clause,  a 
part  of  which  will  be  adverted  to  presently ;  but,  by  what  is 
already  shown,  it  is  manifest  that  Washington  asked  Madi 
son  both  to  write  for  him  and  to  think  for  him  in  this 
behalf;  and  that  he  guided  Madison  in  regard  only  to  cer- 


22  WASHINGTON'S  LETTER  TO  MADISON. 

tain  topics,  leaving  to  him  an  unlimited  range  as  to  others, 
subject,  of  course,  to  his  own  revision  and  judgment,  in 
which  he  appears,  at  all  times,  to  have  possessed  the  fullest 
confidence,  whether  in  deciding  upon  his  own  capacity  and 
language,  or  upon  the  capacity  and  language  of  another. 
And  it  is  made  further  manifest,  that,  so  far  from  regarding 
the  Address  as  a  merely  personal  paper,  it  was  to  be,  in 
one  contingency  of  time,  what  Washington  called  "  the 
"  closing  act  of  his  administration ;"  thus  bringing  it  at 
once  into  the  category  of  public  and  official  papers. 

This,  however,  is  not  all  that  is  made  plain  by  the  letter, 
as  plain  by  what  it  does  not  say,  as  by  wrhat  it  does.  Cer 
tainly,  it  was  a  letter  that  showed  confidence  and  trust,  and 
so  it  must  have  been  understood  by  the  parties ;  and  it  de 
manded  reserve  and  silence  at  the  time  on  the  part  of  Madi 
son,  from  the  uncertainty  whether  Washington  would  retire, 
as  he  wished  to  do,  and  from  the  consequences  that  would  have 
resulted  from  bruiting  his  purpose  prematurely  to  the  world. 
This  motive  for  silence  and  reserve  continued  to  the  time  of 
Washington's  final  determination,  in  the  beginning  of  1796, 
and  even  later  than  that,  as  will  hereafter  be  seen.  But 
there  is  not  a  word  about  secrecy  in  the  letter.  It  is  not 
headed  "confidential,"  nor  described  as  confidential,  to  re 
strict  the  knowledge  of  it  to  the  parties  only ;  and  the  last 
clause  of  the  letter  proves,  that  in  Washington's  mind,  the 
confidence,  as  to  the  Farewell  Address,  stood  upon  the  same 
footing  as  if  the  subject  had  been  the  President's  speech  at 
the  opening  of  Congress ;  for  in  precisely  the  same  condition 
of  confidence  as  in  the  matter  of  the  Farewell  Address, 
Washington  adverted  to  the  approaching  session  of  -Con 
gress,  and  said : — 


NO    SPECIAL    IMPLICATION    OF    SECRECY.  23 

"  I  beg  leave  to  draw  your  attention,  also,  to  such  things  as  you 
"  shall  conceive  fit  subjects  for  communication  on  that  occasion  ; 
"  and,  noting  them  as  they  occur,  that  you  would  be  so  good  as  to 
"  provide  me  with  them  in  time  to  be  prepared  and  engrafted  with 
"the  others  for  the  opening  of  the  session." 

Since  the  death  of  both  Washington  and  Hamilton,  a 
notion  of  some  special  honorary  secrecy  and  confidence,  in 
this  reference  for  advice  and  assistance  in  the  matter  of  the 
Farewell  Address,  has  been  blended  with  the  consideration 
of  the  whole  subject,  and  has  led  to  both  misconceptions 
and  misrepresentations.     If  the  thought  is  analyzed  with 
any  care,  it  will  be  found  to  contain,  if  I  may  follow  Mr. 
Jefferson's  authority  for  a  word,  that  sort  of  belittling  appeal 
to   honor,  which  one    lady   of  fashion  makes   to    another, 
when  she  borrows  her  diamonds  to  show  off  in.     There  is 
no  trace  or  implication  of  the  feeling  in  this  first  letter  to 
Mr.  Madison ;   and  those  who  have   suggested  it,  in  some 
disparagement  of   Hamilton,  do   not  appear  to  have  con 
sidered    how   equally   it   casts    back    upon    the    party   by 
whom  the  appeal  was  made,  if  it  was  made  or  intended. 
A  motive   for  the  honorary  secrecy  must  be   imputed  to 
Washington,  before  the  preservation  of  papers  which  reveal 
its  object,  can  be  imputed  to  Madison  or  to  Hamilton.     If 
the  preservation  of  such  papers  involves  Madison  or  Hamil 
ton  in  the  indelicacy  of  violating  secrecy  for  his  own  advan 
tage,  against  the  understanding  and  wish  of  Washington, 
that  understanding  and  wish  must  involve  Washington  in 
the  vanity  of  desiring  to  pass  as  the  unassisted  author  of 
every  part  of  the  Address.     There  is  not  a  circumstance  in 
the  life  of  either  Washington  or  Hamilton,  that  justifies  the 
one  imputation  or  the  other ;  and  a  body  of  proofs  will  be 


24  MR.  MADISON'S  DRAUGHT. 

hereafter  submitted,  which,  if  any  thing  can  prove  a  negative, 
will  prove  that  the  purpose  and  thought,  in  the  particular 
case,  were  equally  absent  from  both. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  much,  in  this  place,  about  Mr. 
Madison's  draught  of  a  Farewell  Address.  It  is  printed  at 
length  in  Mr.  Sparks's  edition  of  Washington's  Writings. 
It  is  a  rather  curt  paper,  not  occupying  in  the  whole  three 
full  pages  of  Mr.  Sparks's  Appendix,  even  with  an  alternative 
clause,  which  was  to  be  omitted,  if  the  notification  of  Wash 
ington's  purpose  to  retire,  and  the  expression  of  his  counsels 
and  cautions,  should  make  but  one  paper.  It  is  not  unrea 
sonable  to  suppose  that  Mr.  Madison,  at  that  time,  may  have 
known  himself  to  be  drawn  further  away  from  the  policy  of 
Washington,  than  Washington  was  aware  of.  His  feelings 
of  delicacy  in  the  transaction  may  have  been  heightened  by 
the  circumstance.  The  fact  is  historically  true ;  and  Madi 
son's  draught  foreshadowed  the  proof  of  it.  Madison  confined 
himself,  in  his  draught,  mainly  to  a  repetition  of  Washington's 
suggestions,  developing  them  to  a  very  moderate  extent 
only,  and  not  using  at  all  the  power  delegated  to  him,  to 
comprehend  other  topics.  He  aimed,  as  his  reply  to  Wash 
ington  imports,  at  that  plainness  and  modesty  of  language 
which  Washington  had  in  view,  to  the  extent,  as  Washing 
ton's  copy  of  this  paper  in  his  own  original  draught,  will 
show,  of  making  him  speak  of  his  own  "  very  fallible  judg- 
"  went"  of  which  Washington  had  not  spoken  in  his  letter, 
and  of  his  "inferior  qualifications  for  the  trust" — a  dis 
claimer  of  what  the  unprejudiced  part  of  the  world  knew 
him  to  possess  in  a  remarkable  degree ;  and  did  little  more, 
and  says  himself  that  he  "  had  little  more  to  do,  as  to  the 
"  matter,  than  to  follow  the  just  and  comprehensive  outline 


MR.  MADISON'S  DRAUGHT.  25 

"  which  Washington  had  sketched."   In  one  particular,  and  it 
was  an  awakening  one,  Mr.  Madison  fell  short  of  even  this. 

It  may  be  observed,  that  Washington's  language,  in  the 
fourth  of  the  topics  expressly  suggested  by  him  to  Madison, 
is  very  explicit.  In  that  paragraph  the  principle  assumed 
is,  that,  "  however  necessary  it  may  be  to  keep  a  watchful 
"  eye  over  public  servants  and  public  measures," — and 
Washington  affirms  nothing  in  regard  to  this  necessity, — 
he  docs  affirm  distinctly,  that  "  there  ought  to  be  limits  to 
"  it ;  for  unfounded  suspicions  and  jealousies  too  lively,  are  / 
"  irritating  to  honest  feelings,  and  oftentimes  are  more  pro- 
"  ductive  of  evil  than  good." 

Every  one  knows  that  Washington  had  been  stung  and 
irritated  by  the  party  arrows  that  were  shot  at  him  person 
ally,  as  well  as  at  certain  members  of  his  administration ; 
but  the  breadth  and  depth  of  this  irritation,  and  the  direc 
tion  in  which  it  spread,  are  not  so  well  known.  Some  of 
his  papers  reveal  it  with  little  disguise.  He  therefore 
meant  to  assert,  in  the  paragraph  referred  to,  that  a  liberal 
confidence  in  public  servants  was,  in  such  a  government  as 
ours,  the  true  principle^  and  a  watchful  eye  only  a  qualifica 
tion  of  that  principle.  Madison's  draught,  on  the  contrary, 
places  among  the  vows  which  Washington  would  carry  to 
his  retirement  and  to  his  grave,  "  that  its  administration,  in 
"  every  department,  may  be  stamped  with  wisdom  and  virtue, 
"  and  that  this  character  may  be  insured  to  it,  by  that  watch- 
"  fulness  which,  on  one  hand,  loill  be  necessary  to  prevent  or 
"  correct  a  degeneracy,  and  that  forbearance,  on  the  other, 
"  from  unfounded  or  indiscriminate  jealousies,  which  would 
"deprive  the  public  of  the  best  services,  by  depriving  a 
"  conscious  integrity  of  the  noblest  incitements  to  perform 
kt  them." 


26  MR.  MADISON'S  DRAUGHT. 

This  seems  to  have  been  rather  an  inversion  of  Wash 
ington's  meaning,  than  even  a  dilution  of  it ;  for  by  posi 
tion,  as  well  as  by  force  of  the  terms,  it  affirms  watch 
fulness  to  be  the  principle,  and  forbearance  the  qualification. 
Though  Washington  may  have  observed  this,  he  retained 
this  form  of  statement,  in  so  much  of  the  paper  he  after 
wards  prepared  as  was  taken  from  Madison's  draught,  re 
stating,  however,  in  the  initial  and  final  paragraphs  of  his 
own  section  of  that  paper,  the  vital  part  of  the  same  senti 
ment,  which  he  had  thus  emphasized  in  his  letter  to  Madi 
son.  Hamilton  certainly  observed  it,  and  Washington 
finally  held  to  a  less  questionable  expression  of  his  views, 
as  will  be  seen  hereafter;  and  it  will  also  be  seen  that 
Hamilton  brings  forward  in  his  original  draught,  modified  by 
himself  or  Washington  afterwards,  the  substance  of  Wash 
ington's  principle,  and  philosophically  supports  it  by  a  dis 
tinction  between  "  governments  of  a  monarchical  character 
"  or  bias,"  and  governments  of  a  merely  elective  and  popular 
kind. 

The  proposition  of  Washington,  in  his  letter  to  Madison, 
might  be  regarded  as  true  in  the  abstract,  supposing  a 
democracy  to  possess  virtue,  the  "  one  spring  more,"  which 
Montesquieu  thinks  is  necessary  to  it.  But  the  past  expe 
rience  of  our  own  institutions,  compels  us  to  regard  it  prac 
tically  as  Utopian.  If  it  was  not  applied  in  our  first  and 
purest  administration  of  government,  it  is  not  likely  to  be 
applied  in  any.  Mr.  Madison  must  have  known,  from  the 
res  (jestce  of  times  then  shortly  past  and  passing  before  him, 
that  he  could  not  safely  commit  himself,  even  as  a  represen 
tative  pen,  to  the  plain  enunciation  of  Washington's  prin 
ciple.  Hamilton  also,  perhaps,  saw  that  it  was  impracticable ; 


THE    AUTHORITIES    CITED    IX    THIS    INQUIRY.  27 

but  he  knew  it  to  be  Washington's  pure  and  noble  thought, 
and  therefore  clothed  it  in  the  safest  terms  in  "his  draught  of 
an  Address. 

As  Washington  surrendered  his  wish  to  retire  at  the  end 
of  his  first  term  of  office,  the  use  of  Madison's  draught  was 
postponed,  until  the  subject  recurred,  in  the  course  of 
Washington's  second  term,  when  his  determination  to  retire 
became  absolute,  and  he  proceeded  to  the  preparation  of 
another  Farewell  Address. 

The  purpose  of  this  Inquiry  calls  for  some  precision  in 
the  reference  to  proofs  or  authorities,  to  show  the  course  of 
Washington  in  this  second  preparation.  All  of  these  proofs 
have  been  for  several  years  before  the  public,  in  authentic 
printed  volumes,  with  the  exception  of  Hamilton's  replies 
to  Washington's  letters,  and  parts  of  Washington's  original 
or  preparatory  draught.  The  case  might  have  been  better 
understood  than  it  seems  to  have  been,  even  without  the 
publication  of  these  excepted  parts ;  but,  as  there  appears  to 
be  now  but  a  single  link  of  the  chain  wanting,  and  that  not 
an  indispensable  one,  namely,  the  copy  of  Hamilton's  ori 
ginal  draught  which  he  sent  to  Washington,  amending  con 
siderably  the  original  draught,  which  he  retained,  and  is  now 
printed  in  his  works,  it  may  assist  the  reader  to  have  before 
him,  in  one  view,  a  statement  of  all  the  proofs  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  refer  to  in  the  course  of  this  Inquiry.  They  are 
as  follows  :•• — 

1.  The  Appendix  to  the  twelfth  volume  of  Mr.  Sparks's 
"  Writings  of  George  Washington,"  No.  Ill ;  "  Washing 
ton's  Farewell  Address,"  pages  382  to  398,  inclusive.  This 
paper  contains  copies  of  the  letters  between  Washington 
and  Madison,  on  the  subject  of  the  Address — a  copy  of 


28  THE  WRITER'S  AUTHORITIES. 

Madison's  draught — and  two  portions  of  Washington's  pre 
paratory  draught,  made  before  he  consulted  Hamilton.  These 
portions  consisted,  1st,  of  Madison's  draught,  and,  2d,  of  an 
original  paper  by  Washington,  bearing  in  Mr.  Sparks's  Ap 
pendix  the  title  or  heading  of  HINTS  OR  HEADS  OF  TOPICS. 

2.  The  letters  from  Washington  to  Hamilton,  on  the  sub 
ject  of  the  Farewell  Address,  the  originals  of  which  are  now 
in  the  Department  of  State,  and  the  printed  copies  are  to 
be  found  in  the  sixth  volume  of  "  The  Works  of  Alexander 
u  Hamilton,  comprising  his  Correspondence,  and  his  Political 
"  and  Official  Writings,  exclusive  of  the  Federalist,  Civil  and 
"  Military,  published  from  the  Original  Manuscripts  in  the 
"  Department  of  State,  by  Order  of  the  Joint  Library  Com- 
"  mittee  of  Congress.     Edited  by  John  C.  Hamilton,  author  of 
"  a  Life  of  Hamilton."    The  letters  in  that  work  are  printed 
in  the  order  of  date,  and  the  date  of  the  particular  letter 
referred  to  in  this  Inquiry,  will  be  a  guide  to  the  volume 
and  place  where  it  may  be  found. 

3.  Hamilton's  letters  to  Washington  on  the  same  subject. 
An  extract  from  the  first  of  these  in  point  of  date  (10th 
May,   1796),  is  printed  in  the   Appendix  to  the  twelfth 
volume  of  Washington's  Writings,  page  391,  in  the  paper 
of  Mr.  Sparks,  headed  "  Washington's  Farewell  Address." 
The  originals  of  all  the  other  letters  of  Hamilton  on  this 
subject,  as  well  as  the  first,  were  at  one  time  in  the  posses 
sion  of  Mr.  Sparks ;  and  copies  of  them,  supplied  by  him 
as  I  understand,  are  now  in  my  possession.     They  will  be 
either  copied  at  large,  or  quoted  in  every  material  part,  if 
the  letter  refers  to  other  matters.     The  originals,  it  is  un 
derstood,  were  finally  deposited  in  the  Department  of  State. 
Whether  they  are  all  now  there,  is,  I  understand,  uncer 
tain. 


AUTHORITIES    OF    THE    INQUIRY.  29 

4.  Washington's  original  draught  of  an  Address,  sent  by 
him  to  Hamilton,  on  the  15th  May,  1796,  for  the  purposes 
described  in  Washington's  letter  of  that  date.     I  give  this 
title  to  a  paper  left  by  Washington  at  his  death,  and  which 
subsequently  was  in  Mr.  Sparks's  possession,  for  the  pur 
poses  of  his  edition  of  Washington's  Writings.    Mr.  Sparks 
has  supplied  a  copy  of  the  beginning  and  conclusion  of  this 
paper  to  Mr.  Hamilton,  the  author  of  Hamilton's  life,  by 
whose  permission  I  use  them.     The  two  middle  parts  are 
printed  in  Mr.  Sparks's  Appendix.     One  of  them  is  Madi 
son's  draught ;  the  other  is  the  paper  entitled  "  Hints  or  Heads 
"  of  Topics."     Together  they  constitute  the  entire  draught, 
as  it  appears  in  the  Appendix  to  this  Inquiry.     The  lines 
which  Washington  altered,  by  drawing  a  line  through  them, 
though  perfectly  legible  in  the  paper,  are  not  material,  and 
are  supplied  by  asterisks.     The  words  he  interlined,  to  con 
nect  what  is  disjoined  by  the  erasure,  are  printed  in  italics 
on  the  body  of  the  page  in  the  Appendix. 

5.  Hamilton's  "  Abstract  of  points  to  form  an  Address  ;" 
printed  in  Hamilton's  Works,  vol.  vii,  p.  570. 

6.  Hamilton's  original  draught  of  the  Farewell  Address  ; 
printed  in  the  same  volume,  page  575. 

7.  Mr.  Jay's  letter  to  Judge  Peters,  dated  29th  March, 
1811 ;  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Life  of  John  Jay,  by  his 
son  William  Jay,  at  page  336. 

8.  The  Farewell  Address  to  the  People  of  the  United 
States,  by  Washington,  dated  17th  September,  1796;  in  the 
twelfth  volume  of  Washington's  Writings,  edited  by  Jared 
Sparks,  at  page  214. 

9.  The  reprint  of  the   autograph  copy  of  Washington's 
Farewell  Address,  with  certain  clauses  and  words  which  had 


30  WASHINGTON'S  PREPARATION  OF  A  DRAUGHT. 

been  cancelled  in  the  autograph  copy,  now  restored  and 
printed  at  the  foot  of  the  respective  pages. 

These  are  all  the  authorities  which  are  necessary  to  de 
termine  the  respective  contributions  of  Washington  and 
Hamilton  to  the  Farewell  Address  ;  and  they  are  all  acces 
sible,  in  original  or  copy,  in  their  original  completeness. 
And  it  is  remarkable  that  they  are  not  only  all  that  is  neces 
sary  to  this  end,  but  that  some  of  them  supply  irresistible  nega 
tive  proof,  that  nothing  occurred  personally,  or  face  to  face, 
between  Washington  and  Hamilton,  to  affect  the  inferences 
which  the  written  or  printed  documents  justify;  for,  except 
a  single  personal  interview  between  them,  before  the  corre 
spondence  began,  which  interview,  the  correspondence 
shows,  had  no  influence  whatever  on  the  subsequent  work 
of  either  of  the  parties,  there  was  not  a  single  instance  of 
personal  intercourse,  direct  or  indirect,  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  the  whole  work  on  both  sides.  The  whole 
matter  was  conducted  in  writing,  and  without  the  interven 
tion  of  any  common  friend,  instructed  upon  the  subject,  and 
passing  between  the  parties. 

Washington  himself  prepared  a  draught  of  a  valedictory 
address,  and  showed  it  to  Hamilton  in  Philadelphia,  before 
the  10th  of  May,  1796.  On  that  day  Hamilton  wrote  to 
Washington  from  New  York,  in  regard  to  this  paper,  and 
Washington  sent  it  to  him,  with  a  letter  dated  the  15th 


A  draught  of  such  an  Address,  in  Washington's  hand 
writing,  either  the  same  which  he  sent  to  Hamilton,  or 
another,  was  found  among  Washington's  papers,  after  his 
death.  The  paper  that  was  so  found,  and  which  I  shall 


MR.    SPARKS'S    VIEW    OF    IT.  31 

hereafter  refer  to  as  the  preserved  paper,  is  described  by  Mr. 
Sparks,  in  the  Appendix  to  the  twelfth  volume  of  Wash 
ington's  Writings,  at  page  391,  as  follows:  "It  is  certain, 
"  however,  that  it  was  Washington's  original  idea  to  embody 
"  in  the  Address  the  substance  and  the  form  of  Mr.  Madi- 
"  son's  draught,  and  to  make  such  additions  as  events  and  the 
"  change  of  circumstances  seemed  to  require.  A  paper  of 
"  this  description  has  been  preserved,  in  which  is  first  in- 
"  serted  Mr.  Madison's  draught,  and  then  a  series  of  memoran- 
"  da  or  loose  hints,  evidently  designed  to  be  wrought  into  the 
"  Address.  These  are  here  printed  as  transcribed  from  the 
"original  manuscript:"  and  then  follows  a  succession  of 
paragraphs,  with  the  heading  HINTS  OR  HEADS  OF  TOPICS, 
filling  about  two  pages  and  a  half  of  the  Appendix. 

Mr.  Sparks's  imperfect  knowledge  of  some  of  the  papers 
I  have  referred  to,  which  were  not  published  until  after  the 
completion  of  his  edition  of  Washington's  Writings,  and 
perhaps  something  in  the  very  considerable  dissimilitude,  at 
least  in  form,  between  the  preserved  paper  and  the  published 
Farewell  Address,  induced  him,  probably,  to  regard  it  as 
uncertain  whether  this  paper  was  the  same  which  Wash 
ington  showed,  and  afterwards  sent,  to  Hamilton,  as  his 
draught  of  the  Address.  In  this  state  of  doubt  or  disbelief, 
he  omitted  to  print  the  entire  paper  in  extenso.  Some 
remarks  in  the  initial  part  of  it,  introductory  of  Madison's 
draught,  might  have  given  some  pain  to  the  surviving  family 
of  Mr.  Madison ;  and  if  the  paper  was  in  reality,  what  Mr. 
Sparks  seems  to  have  thought  it  was,  a  speculative  paper, 
or  a  paper  containing  mere  memoranda  or  hints  of  topics 
for  an  address,  and  not  a  definite  presentment  of  Wash 
ington's  thoughts  and  language,  it  may  seem  to  have  come 


32  DESCRIPTION    OP   THE    PAPER. 

within  the  discretion  of  an  editor,  either  to  select  it  or  not, 
for  publication.  But  the  publication  of  several  papers  on 
the  subject  of  the  Address,  since  that  edition  of  Washing 
ton's  Writings,  particularly  Hamilton's  original  draught,  and 
Washington's  letters  to  Hamilton,  having  made  it  not  pro 
bable  merely,  but  morally  certain,  that  this  preserved  paper 
is  the  very  draught  which  was  sent  by  Washington  to  Ham 
ilton,  by  a  letter  of  the  15th  May,  1796,  Mr.  Sparks,  upon 
request,  immediately  supplied  to  Mr.  John  C.  Hamilton 
copies  of  the  beginning  and  conclusion  of  the  paper,  and 
has  always,  I  learn,  been  ready  so  to  communicate  copies  of 
such  of  these  papers  as  were  in  his  possession,  on  this  sub 
ject  ;  and  by  means  of  them  the  whole  draught  has  been 
completed,  and  appears  in  the  Appendix  to  this  Inquiry. 
There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  preserved  paper 
at  large,  is  the  original  draught  of  Washington,  which  his 
letter  to  Hamilton  refers  to.  It  was  also,  in  some  degree,  a 
completed  paper,  as  far  as  Washington  personally  meant  to 
go.  It  begins  with  a  formal  address  to  the  people,  by  the 
description  of  "  Friends  and  Fellow-Citizens ;"  and  it  con 
cludes  with  Washington's  signature  in  the  usual  form,  but 
without  date.  Its  identity  is  specially  established  by  an 
alteration  on  the  first  page  of  it,  which  is  noticed  in  Wash 
ington's  letter  to  Hamilton,  and  is  made  by  a  line  drawn 
through  certain  expressions,  and  through  a  name  at  the  foot 
of  the  first  page.  As  the  whole  matter  is  now,  at  least, 
historical,  there  can  be  no  propriety  in  leaving  any  part  of  a 
writing  incomplete,  which  is  so  manifestly  a  principal  hinge 
of  the  main  question.  The  alteration  in  the  paper  has 
become,  also,  a  matter  of  complete  insignificancy,  in  the 
personal  relation,  to  Mr.  Madison  or  to  any  one  else,  even  if, 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    PAPER.  33 

under  any  circumstances,  the  contrary  aspect  of  it  can  be 
thought  to  justify  a  departure  from  the  right  line  of  history, 
in  regard  to  the  acts  of  great  public  men,  who  have  left  the 
records  of  them  for  inspection. 

There  are  one  or  two  particulars  in  which  Mr.  Sparks,  by 
his  omission  to  print  the  concluding  paper,  and  by  remarks 
upon  a  part  of  it  which  he  does  print,  has  unintentionally 
done  some  injustice  to  Washington.  Nothing  could  have 
been  further  from  his  intention. 

From  the  concluding  part  of  the  preserved  paper,  Hamil 
ton  has  taken  some  rather  touching  thoughts  of  Washington, 
in  regard  to  his  long  life  of  service,  and  to  the  affection  which 
he  bore  to  the  land  that  had  been  his  birthplace,  and  the 
birthplace  of  his  ancestors  for  four  generations.  He  also  has 
taken  from  it  his  reference  to  the  Proclamation  of  Neutrality, 
and  other  matters.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  conclusion, 
Hamilton,  with  Washington's  approbation,  has  omitted  ;  be 
cause,  as  a  public  paper,  looking  to  distant  posterity,  as  well 
as  to  the  time  present,  it  was  thought  best  to  turn  away 
from  the  temporary  causes  of  irritation,  which  Washington, 
with  some  animation,  had  referred  to  as  a  party  injustice  to 
him.  One  ought  not  to  question  what  two  such  judgments 
as  Washington's  and  Hamilton's  finally  approved.  But  the 
concluding  part  of  Washington's  draught  appears  to  be  of 
the  greatest  importance  to  his  personal  biography.  It  will 
enable  the  public  to  know  him,  even  better  than  he  is  gene 
rally  known,  and  neither  to  love  nor  to  honor  him  less. 
It  may  show  us,  that  like  Achilles,  he  was  vulnerable  in  one 
part,  not,  however,  in  a  lower  part  of  his  nature,  but  in  the 
sensitive  tegument  of  the  higher;  and  that  the  arrows  of 
party  had  just  so  far  raised  the  skin,  that  his  arm  was  up, 

3 


34  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    PAPER. 

and  had  given  the  wave  of  defiance  to  his  enemies,  prepara 
tory  to  a  blow,  which  his  deep  love  of  the  whole  country 
arrested.  It  was  magnanimous  as  well  as  wise  in  Hamilton, 
who  was  a  copartner  and  sufferer  in  the  conflict,  to  exclude 
this  portion  of  the  paper  from  the  Farewell  Address ;  but  it 
colors  Washington  to  the  life,  and  with  the  colors  of  a  grand 
and  noble  nature,  not  the  less  impressive  because  it  was 
human  nature. 

In  another  particular,  Mr.  Sparks's  remarks  deserve  re 
consideration.  Being  made,  probably,  under  the  apprehen 
sion  that  the  preserved  paper  was  a  mere  study  by  Washing 
ton  for  a  larger  work,  Mr.  Sparks  has  regarded  the  second 
or  principal  division  which  he  has  printed  in  his  Appendix, 
as  being  "  a  series  of  memoranda  or  loose  hints,  evidently 
"  designed  to  be  wrought  into  the  Address :"  whereas  they 
contain  the  great  body  of  Washington's  contribution  to  the 
Farewell  Address,  and  are  the  basis  of  Hamilton's  expan 
sions,  on  the  most  important  points.  The  thoughts,  and 
sometimes  the  language,  appear  in  their  appropriate  places 
in  Hamilton's  draught ;  and  with  Madison's  draught,  or  rather 
Washington's  letter  to  Madison,  from  which  that  draught 
was  framed,  they  are  the  entire  contribution  of  Washington, 
except  as  he  may  have  added  to  the  copy  of  Hamilton's 
original  draught,  after  its  final  revision  and  return  to  him. 
I  am  compelled  to  differ  from  Mr.  Sparks  on  this  point  as 
well  as  on  one  or  two  others ;  but  nevertheless,  I  trust,  with 
all  becoming  deference  to  his  opinions.* 


*  There  is  a  fine  tone  of  criticism  in  a  most  able  and  interesting  work,  now  near  its 
completion,  Rawlinson's  Translation  of  Herodotus,  with  Appendices  containing  Essays 
on  important  epochs  and  topics  in  Ancient  History.  It  is  not  for  the  appropriateness 


DESCRIPTION    OF   THE    PAPER.  35 

That  portion  of  the  preserved  paper  to  which  the  remarks 
of  Mr.  Sparks  are  applied,  and  which  is  indicated  in  his 


of  any  of  these  dissertations  to  the  subject  of  this  Inquiry,  but  for  the  author's  manly 
freedom  of  dissent  from  opposite  opinions,  without  the  least  bitterness,  and  for  his  dis 
criminating  praise  without  flattery,  that  I  extract  a  portion  or  two  of  his  remarks  upon 
passages  in  the  two  best  English  histories  of  Ancient  Greece.  I  wish  them  to  be 
regarded  as  exhibiting  my  own  state  of  feeling  in  any  dissent  I  may  express  from  the 
opinions  of  Mr.  Sparks,  or  of  any  other  writer  upon  the  subject  of  tne  Farewell 
Address. 

When  speaking  of  the  extent  to  which  Mr.  Grote  supposes  that  the  institutions  of 
Solon  permitted  all  the  free  inhabitants  of  Attica  except  actual  aliens,  to  vote  for 
Archons  and  Senators,  and  to  take  part  in  the  annual  decision  of  their  accountability) 
whether  these  inhabitants  were  or  were  not  members  of  the  four  tribes,  Mr.  Rawlinson 
says,  "  To  me  it  seems  that  the  admission  of  these  persons  to  citizenship  at  this  time, 
"  is  highly  improbable,  and  that  if  it  had  been  a  part  of  the  Solonian  scheme,  we  must 
"  have  found  distinct  mention  of  it." — "  Mr.  Grote,  in  his  account  of  the  Clisthenic 
"  legisJation,  seems  to  admit  all  that  is  here  contended  for;  but  his  statements  in  that 
"  place  appear  to  me  to  be  wholly  inconsistent  with  those  contained  in  his  account 
;' of  the  Solonian  Constitution:"  and  then,  in  a  note,  the  author  cites  the  inconsistent 
passages. — 3  Rawlinsoris  Herodotus,  406.  But  soon  after,  in  speaking  of  his  own  notes 
on  the  modern  portion  of  the  history  of  Athens,  the  author  says,  "  Those  who  require 
"  more,  are  referred  to  the  thirtieth  and  thirty-first  chapters  of  Mr.  Grote's  history, 
"  which  contain  the  most  accurate  digest  of  the  ancient  authorities,  and  the  most  philo- 
';  sophical  comments  upon  them,  to  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  modern  literature." 
—Ibid.  412. 

So  also  as  to  Bishop  ThirlwalTs  history.  "  If  the  democratic  character  of  the  Solonian 
"  Constitution  has  been  insufficiently  apprehended  by  some  of  our  writers,  by  others 
"  it  has  been  undoubtedly  exaggerated  to  a  greater  extent.  To  ascribe  to  Solon  (as 
"  Bishop  Thirlwall  does)  the  full  organization  of  the  Helisea.  as  it  appears  in  the  time 
"  of  the  orators,  the  institution  of  the  Heliastic  oath,  of  the  Nomothets  and  Syndics, 
"  and  of  that  bulwark  of  the  later  constitution,  the  graphe  paranomon,  is  to  misunder- 
"  stand  altogether  his  position  in  Athenian  constitutional  history,  and  to  fail  in  dis- 
';  tinguishing  the  spirit  of  his  legislation  from  that  of  Clisthenes." — Ibid.  405.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  the  author  is  speaking  of  the  internal  changes  in  the  Constitution  of 
Sparta,  which  grew  out  of  the  first  Messenian  war  and  conquest,  he  says,  "  Perhaps 
"  there  are  scarcely  sufficient  data  to  reconstruct  the  true  history  of  the  period  ;  but  the 
"view  taken  by  Bishop  Thiri wall  of  the  changes  made,  and  of  the  circumstances 
"  which  led  to  them,  is  at  once  so  ingenious  and  so  consistent  with  probability,  that 
"it  well  deserves  at  least  the  attention  of  the  student." — "Mr.  Grote,  without  ex- 


36  DESCRIPTION   OF   THE    PAPER. 

Appendix  by  a  line  at  the  head,  in  small  capitals,  as  HINTS, 
OR  HEADS  OF  TOPICS,  does  not  appear  to  warrant  such  a  de 
scription.  Properly  speaking,  they  are  certainly  not  hints 
and  heads  of  topics,  but  decidedly  much  more.  They  are 
certainly  not  hints  or  heads  of  topics  for  the  further  use  of 
Washington  himself;  though  it  is  not  improbable  that  they 
were  written  for  the  guidance  of  the  person  who  should 
follow  and  complete  the  work. 

This  heading  is  not  inclosed  by  Mr.  Sparks  with  marks  of 
quotation,  like  the  paper  that  follows,  from  beginning  to 
end,  and  therefore  I  suppose  it  to  be  Mr.  Sparks's  heading. 
I  have  not  seen  the  original,  and  it  seems  to  be  uncertain 
whether  the  original  can  be  found.  If  the  heading  was 
Washington's,  it  must  be  admitted,  that  at  the  time  of 
writing  it,  he  regarded  the  eleven  paragraphs  that  follow  as 
hints  or  heads  of  topics  ;  but  the  paragraphs  themselves, 
instead  of  being  loose  hints,  slight  touches,  allusions  or  sug 
gestions,  by  way  of  reminder,  constitute  a  perfectly  formal 
and  regular  paper,  in  extension  of  Madison's  draught,  hav 
ing  a  beginning  and  ending,  and  according  to  Washington's 
plan,  sufficiently  exhaustive  of  each  of  the  ten  subjects 
which  succeed  the  first  paragraph. 

Of  these  "  Hints,  or  Heads  of  Topics,"  the  first  and  the 


"  amining  it  formally,  by  implication  rejects  it." — "Bishop  ThirlwalTs  conjectural 
"  restoration  of  the  fact,  is  on  the  whole  satisfactory ;  and  if  not  history,  deserves  to 
"  be  regarded  as  the  best  substitute  for  history  that  is  possible,  considering  the  scan- 
"  tiness  and  contradictory  character  of  the  data." — lh.  361-3. 

This  is  the  strain  of  the  critic,  free,  candid,  and  explicit,  without  bitterness,  and 
without  veiling  either  praise  or  dissent  in  generalities ;  and  there  are  multitudes  of 
like  examples  in  the  work.  A  too  common  fault  of  some  critics  among  us,  has 
been  vague  and  personal  bitterness,  or  lavish  but  indiscriminating  praise,  from  which 
it  has  almost  come  to  be  considered,  that  dissent  is  an  imputation  and  a  challenge. 


DESCRIPTION    OF   THE    PAPER.  37 

last  of   them  embrace  the  subject  of   party  disputes,  in 
vectives,  and  malevolent  misrepresentations,  which  Madison 
had  touched  lightly,  and  with  such  apparent  misapprehen 
sion  of  Washington's  views.    One  of  the  central  paragraphs, 
recommending  pride  in  the  name  of  an  American,  and  ex 
posing  the  danger  of  the  annihilation  of  our  national  dignity 
by  foreign  intrigue  and  influence,  and  exhibiting  both  the 
follies  and  evils  of  foreign  engagements,  interferences,  and 
favors,  is  developed  to  the  extent  of  twenty-nine  lines  of 
the  broad  and  compact  page  of  the  Appendix ;  and  others 
to  the  extent  of  ten,  eight,  and  six  lines  each.     These  are 
not  hints,  or  heads  of  topics.     All  the  paragraphs  consti 
tute    definite,   complete,    and    well- expressed    sentiments, 
beginning  with  a  preamble,  which  sets  forth,  that  if  public 
affairs  had  continued  to  bear  the  aspect  they  assumed  at  the 
time  the  foregoing  address  was  drawn  (Mr.  Madison's  pre 
paration),  he  could  not  have  taken  the  liberty  of  troubling 
his  fellow-citizens  with  any  new  sentiment,  or  with  a  repe 
tition  more  in  detail  of  those  which  are  therein  contained ; 
but  considerable  changes  having  taken  place  at  home  and 
abroad,  he  should  ask  their  indulgence,  while  he  expressed 
"with   more  lively  sensibility  the   following  most   ardent 
"  wishes  of  his  heart :"  and  in  the  expression  of  these,  he 
follows  the  formula  he  had  used  in  his  letter  to  Madison, 
and  which  Madison  had  pursued  in  his  draught,  when  he  ex 
pressed  certain  of  Washington's  wishes,  as  "  vows  which  he 
"  would  carry  with  him  to  his  retirement  and  to  his  grave." 
They  cannot  be  accurately  described,  as  "  Hints,  or  Heads 
"  of  Topics ;"  though  a  hint  may  be  taken  from  anything, 
and  any  single  paragraph  may  be  divided  into  heads  of 
several  topics.    They  are  not,  in  an  accurate  sense,  "  a  series 


38  DESCRIPTION   OF   THE    PAPER. 

"  of  memoranda  or  loose  hints ;"  though  by  some  men,  who 
take  an  artistic  view  of  composition,  and  regard  its  struc 
ture  and  the  combination  and  bearing  of  its  parts  as  matter 
of  essential  consideration,  they  might  be  so  described. 

Although  the  entire  paper  is  now  presented  in  the  Ap 
pendix  to  this  Inquiry,  it  will  make  some  of  my  future 
remarks  more  intelligible,  if  the  substance  of  these  nine 
paragraphs  intervening  between  the  first  and  the  last  of 
them,  is  noticed  in  this  place,  in  the  order  in  which  Wash 
ington  has  arranged  the  subjects. 

The  leading  paragraph — the  second  in  the  paper — ex 
presses  the  ardent  wish  of  Washington's  heart,  that  party 
disputes  among  all  the  friends  and  lovers  of  the  country 
may  subside ;  or,  as  Providence  has  ordained  that  men  shall 
not  always  think  alike,  that  charity  and  benevolence  may  so 
shed  their  benign  influence,  as  to  banish  those  invectives 
which  proceed  from  illiberal  prejudices  and  jealousy.  And 
then  the  paper  goes  on  to  express  like  fervent  wishes, 

that  as  the  Allwise  Dispenser  of  human  blessings 

has  favored  no  nation  with  more  abundant  means  of  happi 
ness  than  United  America,  we  may  not  be  so  ungrateful  to 
our  Creator,  or  so  regardless  of  ourselves  and  our  posterity, 
as  to  dash  the  cup  of  beneficence  thus  offered  to  our  ac 
ceptance  : 

that  we  may  fulfil  all  our  engagements,  foreign  and 

domestic,  to  the  utmost  of  our  abilities ;  for,  in  public  as 
well  as  in  private  life,  honesty  will  ever  be  found  to  be  the 
best  policy : 

that  we  may  avoid  connecting  ourselves  with  the 

politics  of  any  nation,  further  than  shall  be  found  necessary 
to  regulate  our  own  trade,  that  commerce  may  be  placed 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    PAPER.  39 

upon  a  stable  footing,  our  merchants  know  their  rights,  and 
our  government  the  ground  on  which  they  are  to  be  sup 
ported  : 

that  every  citizen  should  take  pride  in  the  name  of 

an  American,  and  act  as  if  he  felt  the  importance  of  the 
character,  by  considering  that  we  are  now  a  distinct  nation, 
the  dignity  of  which  will  be  annihilated,  if  we  enlist  our 
selves,  further  than  our  obligations  require,  under  the  ban 
ners  of  any  other  nation.  And  moreover,  that  we  should 
guard  against  the  intrigues  of  every  foreign  nation  who 
shall  intermingle  in  our  concerns,  or  prescribe  our  policy 
with  other  powers,  if  there  be  no  infraction  of  our  engage 
ments  with  themselves,  as  one  of  the  greatest  evils  that  can 
befall  us  as  a  people ;  for,  whatever  may  be  their  professions, 
the  event  will  prove,  that  nations,  like  individuals,  act  for 
their  own  benefit,  and  not  for  the  benefit  of  others ;  and 
that  all  their  interferences  are  calculated  to  promote  the 
former,  and  in  proportion  as  they  succeed,  will  make  us  less 
independent.  Nothing  is  more  certain,  than  that  if  we 
receive  favors,  we  must  grant  favors,  and,  in  such  circum 
stances  as  ours,  we  cannot  tell  beforehand  on  which  side  the 
balance  will  be  found ;  but  it  is  easy  to  prove  that  it  may 
involve  us  in  disputes,  and  finally  in  war,  to  fulfil  political 
alliances ;  whereas,  if  there  be  no  engagements  on  our  part, 
we  shall  be  unembarrassed,  and  at  liberty  at  all  times  to  act 
from  circumstances,  and  the  dictates  of  justice,  sound  policy, 
and  our  essential  interests : 

that  we  may  be  always  prepared  for  war,  but  never 

unsheath  the  sword,  except  in  self-defence,  so  long  as  justice 
and  our  essential  rights  and  national  respectability  can  be 
preserved  without  it.  If  this  country  can  remain  in  peace 


40  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    PAPER. 

twenty  years  longer,  such,  in  all  probability,  will  be  its 
population,  riches,  and  resources,  when  combined  with  her 
distance  from  other  quarters  of  the  globe,  as  to  bid  defiance, 
in  a  just  cause,  to  any  earthly  power  whatever: 

that  so  long  as  we  profess  to  be  neutral,  our  public 

conduct,  whatever  our  private  affections  may  be,  may  accord 
with  our  professions,  without  suffering  partialities  or  preju 
dices  to  control  our  actions.  A  contrary  practice  is  incom 
patible  with  our  declarations,  pregnant  with  mischief, 
embarrassing  to  the  administration,  tending  to  divide  us 
into  parties,  and  ultimately  productive  of  all  those  evils 
which  proceed  from  faction  : 

that  our  Union  may  be  as  lasting  as  time ;  for  while 

we  are  encircled  in  one  band,  we  shall  possess  the  strength 
of  a  giant,  and  there  will  be  none  to  make  us  afraid. 
Divide,  and  we  shall  become  a  prey  to  foreign  intrigues  and 
internal  discord,  and  shall  be  as  miserable  and  contemptible 
as  we  are  now  enviable  and  happy. 

The  ninth  and  final  wish  is,  that  the  several  departments 
may  be  preserved  in  their  constitutional  purity,  without  any 
attempt  of  one  to  encroach  on  the  rights  or  privileges  of 
another, — that  the  General  and  State  Governments  may 
move  in  their  proper  orbits,  and  the  authorities  of  our  own 
Constitution  may  be  respected  by  ourselves,  as  the  most 
certain  means  of  having  them  respected  by  foreigners. 

The  concluding  paragraph  in  the  division  corresponds 
with  that  which  I  have  already  noticed  as  the  fourth  head 
in  a  part  of  Washington's  suggestions,  in  his  letter  to  Mr. 
Madison,  in  regard  to  the  treatment  of  public  servants ;  and 
I  shall  quote  its  language  hereafter. 

These  are  golden  truths,  a  treasure  of  political  wisdom, 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    PAPER.  41 

experience,  and  foresight,  which,  from  the  gravity  of  their 
tone,  the  depth  of  their  sincerity,  their  simplicity,  and  the 
tenderness  as  well  as  the  strength  of  the  concern  they 
manifest  for  the  whole  people,  make  them  in  themselves  a 
"  Farewell  Address,"  as  it  were,  from  a  dying  father  to  his 
children.  And  they  are  Washington's  alone,  without  sug 
gestion  by  anybody, — Madison,  Hamilton,  or  any  other 
friend  or  adviser, — drawn  from  the  depth  of  Washington's 
own  heart ;  and  if  the  whole  Farewell  Address,  as  it  now 
stands  on  record,  were  decomposed,  and  such  parts  dispelled 
as  were  added  to  give  the  paper  an  entrance  into  the  minds 
of  statesmen  and  legislators,  and  to  place  it  among  the  per 
manent  rules  of  government,  the  great  residuum  would  be 
found  in  these  principles,  an  imperishable  legacy  to  the 
people.  They  are  the  SOUL  of  the  Farewell  Address. 

All  these  thoughts  will  be  found  introduced  into  Hamil 
ton's  original  draught  of  the  Farewell  Address,  and  not 
^infrequently  in  the  language  in  which  Washington  has  ex 
pressed  them;  but,  from  the  bearing  that  is  there  given 
them,  they  have  not  only  a  different  aspect,  but  a  united 
and  concentrated  influence  upon  one  momentous  and  predo 
minant  interest.  Their  aspect  is  changed.  In  the  Hints,  or 
Heads  of  Topics,  they  have  the  enunciative  form,  which  is 
so  common  in  Washington's  writings — simple  truths,  or 
propositions,  or  statements  of  wisdom  or  patriotism,  with 
little  support  by  argument,  and  without  a  manifest  bearing 
upon  each  other,  or  upon  any  general  truth  which  they  are 
meant  to  establish ;  and  they  have  no  dependent  order  or 
succession.  They  are  neither  branches  from  a  common 
trunk,  nor  rays  converging  to  a  common  focus,  but  separate 
and  independent  truths  or  postulates.  With  the  exception 


42  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    PAPER. 

of  the  preamble  and  the  final  clause,  they  might  all  change 
places  with  each  other,  in  any  way  that  could  be  chosen, 
and  none  of  them  would  receive  injury,  nor  would  the  effect 
of  the  whole  be  impaired  by  the  change.  But  when  they 
are  carried  into  the  Farewell  Address,  they  are  found  to 
assume  the  ratiocinative  or  argumental  form,  so  characteristic 
of  Hamilton's  writings.  They  are  made  to  have  a  general 
bearing  upon  a  general  truth  or  aspiration ;  and  their  sepa 
rate  value,  and  their  combined  strength,  are  augmented  by 
their  order  and  position. 

I  must,  therefore,  assume  that  these  paragraphs,  in  con 
nection  with  Madison's  draught,  and  the  beginning  and  con 
clusion  before  mentioned,  did,  in  the  design  of  Washington, 
constitute  definitely  a  draught  by  him  of  a  valedictory  address, 
so  far  as  he  should  prepare  or  arrange  it  himself;  and  that 
this  was  the  very  paper  that  Hamilton  saw  before  the  10th 
May,  1796,  and  was  sent  to  him  by  Washington  on  the 
15th  May,  1796,  as  the  basis  of  the  work  to  which  Wash 
ington  called  him.  This,  however,  will  become  more  evi 
dent  by  the  letter  itself,  to  be  presently  introduced. 

It  is  proper  to  remark  in  this  place,  that  if  the  preserved 
paper  consisted  of  the  whole  of  Mr.  Madison's  draught,  and 
of  all  the  paragraphs  called  "  Hints,  or  Heads  of  Topics,"  it 
would  have  filled  about  five  and  a  half  of  such  printed  pages 
as  are  those  of  Mr.  Sparks's  Appendix.  Washington's  be 
ginning  and  conclusion,  might  have  added  another  such 
page  and  a  half,  or  thereabouts. 

I  shall  now  introduce,  and  in  going  on,  partially  apply  or 
explain  the  proofs  which  more  specially  bear  upon  the  com 
position  of  the  Farewell  Address. 

The  reference  of  the  subject  to  Hamilton,  of  course  pro- 


HAMILTON'S  LETTER  TO  WASHINGTON,  MAY  lOTii,  1796.      43 

ceeded  from  Washington,  as  is  shown  by  Hamilton's  first 
letter  to  Washington. 

Mr.  Sparks,  in  his  Appendix,  has  printed  the  first  part  of 
this  letter  as  an  extract ;  and  it  is  the  only  part  of  the  letter 
that  has  any  the  least  reference  to  the  subject  of  the  pre 
served  paper.  The  commencement  of  the  letter,  and  its 
concluding  address,  are  as  follows : — 

"  NEW  YORK,  May  10th,  1796. 

"  SIR,— 

"  When  last  in  Philadelphia,  you  mentioned  to  me  your  wish, 
"  that  I  should  redress  a  certain  paper,  which  you  had  prepared. 
"  As  it  is  important  that  a  thing  of  this  kind  should  be  done  with 
"  great  care,  and  much  at  leisure  touched  and  retouched,  I  submit  a 
u  wish,  that  as  soon  as  you  have  given  it  the  body  you  mean  it  to 

"  have,  it  may  be  sent  to  me." 

******* 

"  Very  respectfully  and  affectionately, 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
"  Sir, 

"  Your  ob't  serv't, 

"  A.  HAMILTON." 

"  The  President  of  the  United  States." 

Washington  replied  on  the  15th  May,  from  Philadelphia; 
and  as  this  letter  is  the  key  to  Washington's  intentions  and 
to  Hamilton's  acts,  the  entire  letter  will  be  given,  although 
it  may  be  found  at  large  in  6  Hamilton's  AYorks,  p.  120. 
The  convenience  of  making  an  occasional  remark  upon  a 
paragraph  of  it,  before  the  whole  is  exhibited,  will  lead  to 
its  being  presented  in  sections. 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  May  15th,  179G. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — 

"  On  this  day  week  I  wrote  you  a  letter  on  the  subject  of  the 


44        WASHINGTON  TO  HAMILTON,  MAY  15TH,  1796. 

"  information  received  from  G M ,  and  put  it  with  some 

"  other  papers  respecting  the  case  of  M.  de  La  Fayette,  under 
"  cover  to  Mr.  Jay,  to  whom  also  I  had  occasion  to  write.  But  in 
"  my  hurry  (making  up  the  despatches  for  the  post-office  next 
"  morning),  I  forgot  to  give  it  a  superscription  :  of  course  it  had 
"  to  return  from  New  York  for  one,  and  to  encounter  all  the  delay 
"  occasioned  thereby  before  it  could  reach  your  hands." 

"  Since  then  I  have  been  favored  with  your  letter  of  the  10th 
"  inst.,  and  inclose  (in  its  rough  state)  the  paper  mentioned  therein, 
"  with  some  alteration  in  the  first  page  (since  you  saw  it)  relative 
"  to  the  reference  at  foot.  Having  no  copy  by  me,  except  of  the 
"  quoted  part,  nor  of  the  notes  from  which  it  was  drawn,  I  beg 
"  leave  to  recommend  the  draught  now  sent  to  your  particular 
"  attention." 


There  are  some  inferences  from  this  part  of  the  letter, 
which,  although  self-evident,  it  is  thought  material  to  state 
with  precision  in  this  place. 

1.  The  identical  paper  or  draught  which  Washington  had 
prepared,  which   Hamilton  had  seen,  and  which  he  men 
tioned  in  his  letter  of  the  10th  of  May,  was  inclosed  in 
Washington's  letter  of  the  15th.     Some  alterations  in  its 
first  page,  relative  to  a  reference  at  the  foot  of  the  page, 
had  been  made  after  Hamilton  had  seen  the  paper,  and  be 
fore  it  was  inclosed  to  him.      These  alterations  appear  on  the 
face  of  the  preserved  paper,  mentioned  by  Mr.  Sparks,  a  line 
being  drawn  through  several  words,  as  well  as  through  the 
name  of  **  *******  at  the  foot  of  the  page. 

2.  Washington,  when  he  so  inclosed  the  draught,  had  no 
copy  by  him  of  any  part  of  the  draught,  except  what  he 
calls  "the  quoted  part,"  nor  of  the  notes  from  which  it, 
meaning  most  probably  the  original  part  not  quoted,  had 


WASHINGTON'S  LETTER  TO  HAMILTON.  45 

been  drawn,  and  therefore  he  recommends  the  draught  to 
Hamilton's  particular  attention. 

Was  the  preserved  paper  a  different  draught,  prepared 
before  Washington's  letter  of  15th  May,  and  not  mentioned 
when  he  sent  to  Hamilton  the  draught  inclosed  in  that  let 
ter  I  This  is  to  the  last  degree  improbable ;  for  Washington 
said  he  had  no  copy  by  him  except  of  the  quoted  part, 
which  was  Madison's  draught,  nor  the  notes  from  which  the 
draught  he  sent  was  drawn.  Such  a  previously  prepared 
paper,  if  it  existed,  must  therefore  have  been  without  a  trace 
of  connection  with  the  draught  that  was  sent.  Did  Wash 
ington,  after  sending  his  draught  to  Hamilton,  subsequently 
make  another  draught  himself,  or  prepare  Hints  or  Heads 
of  Topics,  corresponding  with  the  preserved  paper  in  Mr. 
Sparks's  Appendix]  The  whole  subsequent  correspondence 
will  show  the  futility  of  such  a  suggestion.  The  draught 
sent  to  Hamilton  was  therefore  the  preserved  paper.  The 
letter  proceeds : — 

"  Even  if  you  should  think  it  best  to  throw  the  whole  into  a 
"  different  form,  let  me  request,  notwithstanding,  that  my  draught 
"  may  be  returned  to  me  (along  with  yours)  with  such  amendments 
"  and  corrections  as  to  render  it  as  perfect  as  the  formation  is  sus- 
"  ceptible  of;  curtailed  if  too  verbose  ;  and  relieved  of  all  tautology 
"  not  necessary  to  enforce  the  ideas  in  the  original  or  quoted  part. 
"  My  wish  is  that  the  whole  may  appear  in  a  plain  style,  and  be 
"  handed  to  the  public  in  an  honest,  unaffected,  simple  garb." 

It  is  from  Washington,  consequently,  that  first  came,  if 
not  the  suggestion  that  the  whole  should  be  thrown  into  a 
different  form,  the  clearly  implied  authority  to  Hamilton  to 
throw  it  into  that  form,  if  he  should  think  it  best.  The 
letter  still  proceeds : — 


46  WASHINGTON'S  LETTER  TO  HAMILTON. 

"  It  will  be  perceived,  from  hence,  that  I  am  attached  to  the 
"  quotation.  My  reasons  for  it  are,  that  as  it  is  not  only  a  fact 
"  that  such  an  address  was  written,  and  on  the  point  of  being  pub- 
u  lished,  but  known  also  to  one  or  two  of  those  characters,  who  are 
"  now  strongest  and  foremost  in  the  opposition  to  the  government, 
"  and  consequently  to  the  person  administering  of  it  contrary  to 
"  their  views,  the  promulgation  thereof,  as  an  evidence  that  it 
"  was  much  against  my  inclination  that  I  continued  in  office,  will 
"  cause  it  more  readily  to  be  believed,  that  I  could  have  no  view  in 
"  extending  the  powers  of  the  Executive  beyond  the  limits  pre- 
"  scribed  by  the  Constitution  ;  and  will  serve  to  lessen,  in  the  public 
"  estimation,  the  pretensions  of  that  party  to  the  patriotic  zeal  and 
u  watchfulness,  on  which  they  endeavor  to  build  their  own  conse- 
"  quence,  at  the  expense  of  others  who  have  differed  from  them  in 
"  sentiment.  And  besides,  it  may  contribute  to  blunt,  if  it  does 
"  not  turn  aside,  some  of  the  shafts  which,  it  may  be  presumed,  will 
"  be  aimed  at  my  annunciation  of  this  event;  among  which,  con- 
"  viction  of  fallen  popularity,  and  despair  of  being  re-elected,  will 
"  be  levelled  at  me  with  dexterity  and  keenness." 

In  this  paragraph,  the  reasons  of  Washington's  attach 
ment  to  the  "  quotation  "  lead  immediately  to  the  inference, 
which  we  now  know  to  be  true,  that  the  "  quoted  part"  of 
his  draught  consisted  of  Madison's  draught,  and  thus  iden 
tifies  the  draught  sent  to  Hamilton,  as  being  composed  in 
part  of  Madison's  draught,  and  in  part  of  original  matter 
written  by  Washington,  which  is  the  character  of  the 
"  preserved  paper,"  according  to  Mr.  Sparks's  account  of  it. 
Madison  was  certainly  one  of  the  "one  or  tivo"  who  knew 
that  the  Address  was  written,  and  on  the  point  of  being 
published,  in  1792,  and  who  were  foremost  in  the  opposition 
to  Washington's  administration  in  1796;  and  Washington 
held  with  some  tenacity  to  what  Madison  had  written,  even 


WASHINGTON'S  LETTER  TO  HAMILTON.  47 

in  regard  to  Washington's  very  fallible  judgment  and  infe 
riority  of  qualifications,  because  the  reference  to  it  in  the 
present  Address  would  bring  the  matter  home  consciously 
to  Madison,  and  with  this  could  hardly  fail  to  recur  to 
him,  at  the  same  time,  the  consciousness  of  Washington's 
sincerity,  candor,  modesty,  and  real  greatness  and  elevation, 
that  would  not  put  away  from  him  these  depreciating 
reminders  of  his  first  adviser,  after  their  relations  had 
changed. 

"  Having  struck  out  the  reference  to  a  particular  character  in 
"  the  first  page  of  the  Address,  I  have  less  (if  any)  objection  to 
"  expunging  those  words  which  are  contained  within  parentheses,  in 
"  pages  5,  7,  and  8,  in  the  quoted  part,  and  those  in  the  eighteenth 
"page  of  what  follows;  nor  to  discarding  the  egotisms  (however 
"just  they  may  be),  if  you  think  them  liable  to  fair  criticism,  and 
"  that  they  had  better  be  omitted,  notwithstanding  some  of  them 
"  relate  facts  which  are  but  little  known  to  the  community." 

"  My  object  has  been,  and  must  continue  to  be,  to  avoid  person- 
"  alities :  allusions  to  particular  measures,  which  may  appear 
"  pointed,  and  to  expressions  which  could  not  fail  to  draw  upon 
u  me  attacks  which  I  should  wish  to  avoid,  and  might  not  find 
"  agreeable  to  repel." 

Whether  this  reference  to  the  eighteenth  page  of  Wash 
ington's  manuscript  draught  includes  the  last  portion  of  the 
"  Hints,  or  Heads  of  Topics,"  or  a  part  of  the  Conclusion^ 
which  has  been  called  the  fourth  paper,  it  is  impossible  to 
determine,  without  seeing  the  copy-book,  or  the  entire 
manuscript  and  its  paging,  which  I  have  not  seen.  But 
this  is  not  very  material.  The  last  paragraph  of  the  "  Hints, 
"  or  Heads  of  Topics,"  printed  by  Mr.  Sparks,  is  one  of  a 
personal  character,  which  becomes  more  pointed  in  the 


48  WASHINGTON'S  LETTER  TO  HAMILTON. 

Conclusion,  not  printed  by  Mr.  Sparks;  though  it  is  not 
connected  there,  as  it  is  in  the  "  Hints  or  Heads  of  Topics," 
with  the  motive  which  led  him  to  retain  Madison's  draught 
as  a  part  of  his  own  paper.  "  In  expressing  these  senti- 
"  ments,"  he  says  ("  Hints,  or  Heads  of  Topics,"  Wash 
ington's  Writings,  vol.  xii,  p.  394),  "it  will  readily  be 
"  perceived  that  I  can  have  no  other  view  now,  whatever 
ci  malevolence  may  have  ascribed  to  it  before,  than  such  as 
"  results  from  a  perfect  conviction  of  the  utility  of  the  mea- 
"  sure.  If  public  servants,  in  the  exercise  of  their  official 
"  duties,  are  found  incompetent,  or  pursuing  wrong  courses, 
"  discontinue  them ;  if  they  are  guilty  of  malpractices,  let 
"  them  be  more  exemplarily  punished :  in  both  cases,  the 
"  Constitution  and  laws  have  made  provision.  But  do  not 
"  withdraw  your  confidence  from  them,  the  best  incentive 
"  to  a  faithful  discharge  of  their  duty,  without  just  cause ; 
"  nor  infer,  because  measures  of  a  complicated  nature,  which 
"  time,  opportunity,  and  close  investigation  alone  can  pene- 
"  trate, — for  these  reasons  are  not  easily  comprehended  by 
"  those  who  do  not  possess  the  means, — that  it  necessarily 
"  follows  they  must  be  wrong.  This  would  not  only  be 
"  doing  injustice  to  your  trustees,  but  be  counteracting  your 
"  own  essential  interests,  rendering  those  trustees,  if  not 
"  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  little  better,  at 
"  least,  than  ciphers  in  the  administration  of  the  govern- 
"  ment ;  and  the  Constitution  of  your  own  choosing  would 
"  reproach  you  for  such  conduct." 

Such  a  paragraph  as  this,  as  well  as  others  in  the  con 
cluding  paper,  might  very  naturally  be  embraced  by  the 
license  which  this  part  of  the  letter  gives  to  Hamilton. 
But  this  is  not  certain.  The  pages  of  the  copy  I  possess  do 


WASHINGTON'S  LETTER  TO  HAMILTON.  49 

not,  I  apprehend,  conform  to  the  original ;  and  there  are  no 
parentheses  in  the  copy,  except  in  two  instances,  quite  un 
important.  Washington's  marks  may  have  been  made  by 
pencil,  and  become  effaced.  The  references  at  pages  5,  7, 
and  8,  cannot  be  ascertained  by  the  copy.  The  letter  goes 
on: — 

"  As  there  will  be  another  session  of  Congress  before  the  political 
"  existence  of  the  present  House  of  Representatives,  or  my  own, 
"  will  expire,  it  was  not  my  design  to  say  a  word  to  the  Legislature 
"  on  this  subject ;  but  to  withhold  the  promulgation  of  my  intention, 
"  until  the  period  when  it  shall  become  indispensably  necessary  for 
"  the  information  of  the  Electors  (which  this  year  will  be  delayed 
"  until  the  7th  of  December).  This  makes  it  a  little  difficult  and 
"  uncertain  what  to  say,  so  long  beforehand,  on  the  part  marked 
"  with  a  pencil,  in  the  last  paragraph  of  the  second  page." 

The  reference  in  this  last  sentence,  is  undoubtedly  to  the 
paragraph  of  Washington's  beginning,  as  I  have  called  it, 
which  immediately  precedes  Mr.  Madison's  draught,  distin 
guished  by  marks  of  quotation  in  the  paper  appended  to 
this  Inquiry,  as  Washington's  original  draught. 

"  All  these  ideas  and  observations  are  confined,  as  you  will 
"  readily  perceive,  to  my  draught  of  the  Valedictory  Address.  If 
"  you  form  one  anew,  it  will,  of  course,  assume  such  a  shape  as  you 
"  may  be  disposed  to  give  it,  predicated  upon  the  sentiments  con- 
"  tained  in  the  inclosed  paper." 

"  With  respect  to  the  gentleman  you  have  mentioned  as  successor 

"  to  Mr.  P ,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  his  abilities,  nor,  in  my 

"  mind,  is  there  any  of  his  fitness ;  but  you  know,  as  well  as  I, 
"  what  has  been  said  of  his  political  sentiments,  with  respect  to 
"  another  form  of  government ;  and  from  thence  can  be  at  no  loss 

4 


50  WASHINGTON'S  RELATION  TO  THE 

a  to  guess  at  the  interpretation  which  would  be  given  to  the  nomi- 
"  nation  of  him.  However,  the  subject  shall  have  due  considera- 
"  tion ;  but  a  previous  resignation  would,  in  my  opinion,  carry  with 
"  it  too  much  the  appearance  of  concert,  and  would  have  a  bad, 
"  rather  than  a  good  effect. 

"  Always  and  sincerely, 

"  I  am  yours, 
"Col.  A.  HAMILTON."  "  GEO.    WASHINGTON. 

The  concluding  remark  in  the  last  paragraph  but  one  of 
this  letter,  is  in  the  full  character  of  Washington,  and  can 
not  be  too  well  remembered  by  the  reader.  It  is  the  key  to 
that  part  of  the  Farewell  Address  that  he  reserved  for  him 
self.  It  says,  in  the  plainest  language,  to  Hamilton, — my 
sentiments  are  contained  in  the  paper  I  send  you.  Certain  of 
them,  which  have  a  bearing  upon  particular  persons  or  party, 
and  what  may  be  called  egotisms, — matters  touching  myself 
particularly, — I  have  no  objection  to  expunge,  if  you  think 
them  liable  to  fair  criticism.  Correct,  amend,  make  it  as 
perfect  as  the  formation  is  susceptible  of,  to  enforce  the  ideas 
or  sentiments  that  are  expressed  in  the  draught.  Or,  throw 
the  whole  into  a  different  form,  if  you  please ;  let  it  assume 
such  a  shape  as  you  may  be  disposed  to  give  it ;  but  the 
sentiments  contained  in  the  inclosed  paper  are  to  be  the 
guide.  These  show  my  design,  my  object,  my  opinions, 
my  counsels  to  the  country,  my  admonitions  to  the  whole 
people ;  these  are  mine,  and  are  to  be  observed  in  whatever 
plan  you  may  adopt. 

And  thus  Washington's  relation  to  the  subject  was  de 
clared  and  established  at  the  outset  by  himself,  and  will  be 
found  to  have  been  most  faithfully,  as  well  as  most  inge 
niously,  observed  and  followed  by  Hamilton  to  the  end. 


COMPOSITION    OF    THE    FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  51 

Washington  was  the  designer,  in  the  general  sense,  if  not  in 
the  artistic.  The  fundamental  and  radical  thoughts  were 
his,  and  were  to  remain  his,  even  in  a  new  draught.  The 
Address  was  to  disclose  his  principles  and  admonitions,  of 
which  he  gave  a  full  outline,  in  sentiments  sufficiently  de 
lineated  by  him  to  characterize  and  identify  them.  As  to 
order,  symmetry,  amplification,  illustration,  support  by  rea 
soning,  or  by  reference  to  general  or  known  facts  or  truths, 
or  even  additions  of  the  same  temperament  as  those  he  had 
expressed,  he  committed  all  this  to  Hamilton,  if  Hamilton 
should  think  it  best,  under  the  names  of  "form"  and 
"  shape,"  by  which  Washington  distinguished  the  external 
appearance  or  composition,  from  the  general  and  fundamen 
tal  truths.  I  may  here,  as  well  as  anywhere  else,  ask  the 
reader  to  observe,  how  expressly  Hamilton  will  call  upon 
Washington  to  see  that  none  of  the  thoughts  he  had  desired 
to  be  embodied  in  the  work,  had  been  omitted  by  oversight ; 
and  how  cautiously,  even  laboriously,  Washington's  eye  will 
be  found  passing  and  repassing  over  the  whole,  to  the  very 
end. 

In  the  month  of  June  following,  Hamilton  wrote  to 
Washington  upon  a  subject  of  public  concern,  making  no 
reference  to  the  valedictory ;  and  Washington  replied  from 
Mount  Vernon,  on  the  26th  of  June.  Hamilton's  letter  is 
printed  in  the  sixth  volume  of  "  Hamilton's  Works,"  page 
133;  Washington's  reply  to  Hamilton,  in  the  same  volume, 
page  135.  A  considerable  part  of  the  reply  relates  to  the 
public  subject  only ;  but  midway,  it  adverts  to  the  embar 
rassment  of  the  administration,  "  from  the  conduct  of 
"  characters  among  ourselves ;  and  as  every  act  of  the 
"  Executive  is  misrepresented  and  tortured,  with  a  view  to 


52  WASHINGTON   TO    HAMILTON,    26TH   JUNE. 

"  make  it  odious,"  it  suggests  that  the  aid  of  the  friends  of 
government  is  peculiarly  necessary  at  such  a  crisis. 

"  It  is  unnecessary,  therefore,  to  add,"  the  letter  says,  "that  I 
"  should  be  glad  upon  the  present,  and  all  other  important  occa- 
"  sions,  to  receive  yours ;  and  as  I  have  great  confidence  in  the 
"  abilities  and  purity  of  Mr.  Jay's  views,  as  well  as  in  his  expe- 
"  rience,  I  should  wish  that  his  sentiments  on  the  purport  of  this 
"  letter,  and  other  interesting  matters  as  they  occur,  may  accom- 
"  pany  yours ;  for,  having  no  other  wTish  than  to  promote  the  true 
"  and  permanent  interests  of  this  country,  I  am  anxious  always  to 
"  compare  the  opinions  of  those  in  whom  I  confide,  with  one  ano- 
"  ther,  and  these  again  (without  being  bound  by  them)  with  my 
"  own,  that  I  may  extract  all  the  good  I  can." 

The  letter  turns,  in  its  concluding  paragraphs,  to  the 
subject  of  the  Valedictory  Address,  and  expresses  "Wash 
ington's  regret  that  he  did  not  publish  it  the  day  after  the 
adjournment  of  Congress  ;  and  gives  several  reasons  for  this 
regret ;  among  others, 

"  that  it  might  have  prevented  the  remarks  which,  more  than  pro- 
"  bable,  will  follow  a  late  annunciation — namely,  that  I  delayed  it 
"  long  enough  to  see  that  the  current  was  turned  against  me,  before 
"  I  declared  my  intention  to  decline.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons 
"  which  makes  me  a  little  tenacious  of  the  draught  I  furnished  you 
"  with,  to  be  modified  and  corrected.  Having  passed,  however, 
"  what  I  now  conceive  would  have  been  the  precise  moment  to  have 
"  addressed  my  constituents," 

he  asks  Hamilton's  opinion  as  to  the  next  best  time,  and 
requests  to  hear  from  him  as  soon  as  was  convenient. 

Hamilton   answered   this   letter   on   the    5th   July,   the 


HAMILTON   TO   WASHINGTON,    5TH   JULY.  53 

greater  part  of  the  answer  being  confined  to  the  public 
matter,  and  to  Washington's  suggestions  arising  out  of  it. 

What  regards  the  present  subject  is  contained  in  these 
paragraphs : — 

"  As  to  your  resignation,  sir,"  it  proceeds  to  say,  "it  is  not  to  be 
"  regretted  that  the  declaration  of  your  intention  should  be  sus- 
"  pended  as  long  as  possible  ;  and,  suffer  me  to  add,  that  you  should 
"  really  hold  the  thing  undecided  to  the  last  moment.  I  do  not 
"  think  it  is  in  the  power  of  party  to  throw  any  slur  upon  the  late- 
"  ness  of  your  declaration ;  and  you  have  an  obvious  justification  in 
"  the  state  of  things.  If  a  storm  gathers,  how  can  you  retreat  ? 
"  This  is  a  most  serious  question." 

"  The  proper  period  now  for  your  declaration,  seems  to  be  two 
"  months  before  the  time  for  the  meeting  of  the  Electors.  This 
"  will  be  sufficient.  The  parties  will,  in  the  meantime,  electioneer 
"  conditionally,  that  is  to  say,  if  you  decline  ;  for  a  serious  opposi- 
"  tion  to  you  will,  I  think,  hardly  be  risked." 

"  I  have  completed  the  first  draught  of  a  certain  paper,  and  shall 
"  shortly  transcribe,  correct,  and  forward  it  I  will  then  also  pre- 
"  pare  and  send  forward,  without  delay,  the  original  paper  cor- 
"  rected  upon  the  general  plan  of  it,  so  that  you  may  have  both 
"  before  you  for  a  choice,  in  full  time,  and  for  alteration  if  neces- 
"  sary." 

By  "first  draught  of  a  certain  paper"  Hamilton  undoubt 
edly  meant  his  own  original  draught  of  a  Farewell  Address. 
By  "  the  original  paper  corrected  upon  the  general  plan  of  it" 
he  as  clearly  meant  Washington's  original  or  preparatory 
draught,  which  had  been  sent  to  him  on  the  15th  of  May. 

e  phrase  "corrected  upon  the  general  plan  of  it"  could  not 
reasonably  have  meant  corrected  upon  the  face  or  paper 
itself  of  Washington's  draught,  but  corrected  in  correspond- 


54  AMENDED    COPY    OF    ORIGINAL    DRAUGHT 

ence  or  conformity  with  its  general  plan,  that  is   to   say, 
without  altering  the  plan.  / 

Before  Hamilton  entered  upon  what  he  called  the  first 
draught  of  a  certain  paper,  he  appears  to  have  made  an 
"  abstract  of  points  to  form  an  address,"  a  copy  of  which  is 
printed  in  the  seventh  volume  of  Hamilton's  Works,  page 
570,  and  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix.  It  places  the 
points  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  afterwards  developed 
in  Hamilton's  original  draught,  and  must  be  particularly 
noticed  hereafter. 

It  is  here  called  the  original  draught  of  Hamilton,  for  the 
purpose  of  constantly  distinguishing  it  in  my  future  remarks. 
Hamilton  sent  a  corrected  and  amended  copy  of  this  draught 
to  Washington,  as  he  promised  to  do.  His  letter  says,  "  he 
shall  shortly  transcribe,  correct,  and  forward  it."  The  original 
draught  bears  an  indorsement  in  Hamilton's  handwriting,  in 
these  words  :  "  Copy  of  the  original  draught,  considerably 
amended ;"  which  cannot  mean  that  the  paper  itself,  on 
which  the  indorsement  was  made,  was  considerably  amended 
from  some  other  original, — for  the  paper  itself  is  singularly 
rough,  and  bears  many  interlineations,  marginal  and  other 
wise,  which  in  some  respects  deface  it,  and  leaves  also  a 
considerable  blank  in  it,  to  be,  perhaps,  afterwards  filled 
up, — but  it  must  import  that  the  copy  of  iliat,  the  original 
draught,  was  considerably  amended ;  and  this  amended  or 
corrected  copy,  was  the  copy,  no  doubt,  which  Hamilton  sent 
to  Washington,  the  rough  original  which  bears  the  indorse 
ment  remaining  with  Hamilton,  and  being  now  with  Hamil-p 
ton's  papers  in  the  Department  of  State.  It  was  this 
corrected  copy  that  was  afterwards  returned  by  Washington 
to  Hamilton,  at  his  request,  for  revision,  and  was  again  cor 
rected  or  revised,  and  in  one  or  two  particulars  enlarged  by 


SENT    TO    WASHINGTON,    AND    NOW    MISSING.  55 

him,  and  again  returned  to  Washington.  This  corrected 
copy,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  original  draught,  will  here 
after  be  called  Hamilton's  revision.  This  large  explanation 
may  be  thought  superfluous ;  but,  if  attended  to,  it  will  be 
found  to  prevent  confusion,  in  the  many  references  which 
will  occur  to  the  different  papers,  and  will  also  save  the 
necessity  of  periphrase. 

To  what  extent,  and  in  what  manner  the  copy  of  the  ori 
ginal  draught  which  was  sent  to  Washington,  was  amended  or 
corrected,  either  at  first,  or  upon  a  revision,  cannot  be  known 
with  absolute  certainty ;  for  we  shall  learn  hereafter  that 
this  paper  is  the  only  missing  link.  It  may  be  heard  of  again 
in  the  course  of  these  remarks,  and  may,  some  time  or  other, 
appear ;  but  it  will  not  be  discovered  in  time  for  the  pur 
poses  of  this  Inquiry.  We  know  from  infallible  proofs,  that 
the  amendments  or  corrections  did  not  go  to  the  extent  of 
changing  the  general  order,  subjects,  or  sentiments  of  the 
paragraphs  in  Hamilton's  original  draught.  He  may  have 
struck  out  three  of  them,  and  a  part  of  one  or  two  of  them, 
and  may  have  added  two,  or  at  most  three,  new  ones.  He 
may  have  divided  a  few  of  the  original  paragraphs,  and  con 
solidated  two  paragraphs  in  one,  in  perhaps  two  or  three 
instances.  The  principal  amendments  must  have  been  in 
words, — a  different  selection  from  words  or  turns  of  expres 
sion  nearly  synonymous,  and  not  changing  the  general 
thought  of  the  sentence.  The  comparison  of  Hamilton's 
rough  original  draught  with  Washington's  printed  Farewell 
Address,  will  establish  the  former,  as  continuing  substan 
tially  to  the  end,  an  identity,  under  all  the  amendments  or 
corrections  that  were  made  by  Hamilton,  or  Washington. 

On  the  30th  July,  Hamilton  wrote  the  letter  to  Wash 
ington  which  follows : — 


56     HAMILTON'S  LETTER  TO  WASHINGTON,  30Tii  JULY,  1796. 

"  NEW  YORK,  30th  July,  1796. 
"  SIR,— 

"  I  have  the  pleasure  to  send  you  herewith  a  certain  draught, 
"  which  I  have  endeavored  to  make  as  perfect  as  my  time  and  en- 
"  gagements  would  permitJ  It  has  been  my  object  to  render  this 
"  act  importantly  and  lastingly  useful,  and,  avoiding  all  just  cause 
"  of  present  exception,  to  embrace  such  reflections  and  sentiments 
"  as  will  wear  well,  progress  in  approbation  with  time,  and  redound 
"  to  future  reputation.  How  far  I  have  succeeded,  you  will  judge. 

"  I  have  begun  the  second  part  of  the  task,  the  digesting  the 
"  supplementary  remarks  to  the  first  address,  which,  in  a  fortnight, 
"  I  hope  also  to  send  you;  yet,  I  confess,  the  more  I  have  consi- 
"  dered  the  matter,  the  less  eligible  this  plan  has  appeared  to  me. 
"  There  seems  to  me  to  be  a  certain  awkwardness  in  the  thing,  and 
"  it  seems  to  imply  that  there  is  a  doubt  whether  the  assurance, 
"  without  the  evidence,  would  be  believed.  Besides  that,  I  think 

"  that  there  are  some  ideas  that  will  not  wear  wrell  in  the  former 

• 

"  address;  and  I  do  not  see  how  any  part  can  be  omitted,  if  it  is 
"  to  be  given  as  the  thing  formerly  prepared.  Nevertheless,  when 
"  you  have  both  before  you,  you  can  judge. 

If  you  should  incline  to  take  the  draught  now  sent,  after  pe- 
"  rusing,  and  noting  anything  that  you  wish  changed,  and  will  send 
"  it  to  me,  I  will,  with  pleasure,  shape  it  as  you  desire.  This  may 
"  also  put  it  in  my  power  to  improve  the  expression,  and  perhaps, 
"  in  some  instances,  condense. 

"  I  rejoice  that  certain  clouds  have  not  lately  thickened,  and  that 
"  there  is  a  prospect  of  a  brighter  horizon. 

"  With  aifectionate  and  respectful 

"  attachment,  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
"  Sir, 

"  Your  very  obedient  servant, 

"  The  President  of  the  United  States."  "  A.    HAMILTON. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  1796,  Hamilton  again  wrote  to 
Washington,  as  follows : — 


, 


HAMILTON  TO  WASHINGTON,  10TH  AUGUST,  AND  VICE  VERSA.     57 

"  SIR,— 

u  About  a  fortnight  since,  I  sent  you  a  certain  draught.  I  now 
"  send  you  another,  on  the  plan  of  incorporation.  Whichever  you 
"  may  prefer,  if  there  be  any  part  you  wish  to  transfer  from  one  to 
"  another,  any  part  to  be  changed,  or  if  there  be  any  material  idea 
"  in  your  own  draught  which  has  happened  to  be  omitted,  and  which 
"  you  wish  introduced, — in  short,  if  there  be  anything  further  in 
"  the  matter  in  which  I  can  be  of  any  [service],  I  will,  with  great 
"  pleasure,  obey  your  commands. 

"  Very  respectfully  and  affectionately, 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
"  Sir, 

"  Your  obedient,  servant, 

"  A.  HAMILTON. 

"  To  the  President."  «  August  10th,  1796. 

Washington's  draught  in  its  original  form,  together  with 
the  other  on  the  plan  of  incorporation,  must  have  been  re 
turned  at  the  same  time  with  this  letter,  though  it  is  not  so 
expressed.  The  care  and  return  of  it  were  enjoined  by 
Washington,  and  he  had  it,  with  the  other,  in  his  hands, 
when  he  wrote  his  letter  of  25th  August,  hereafter  given. 

On  the  same  10th  August,  Washington  acknowledged 
Hamilton's  letter  of  30th  July,  and  the  draught  it 
inclosed. 

"  MOUNT  VERNON,  10th  August,  1796. 
"  MY   DEAR    SlR, — 

"  The  principal  design  of  this  letter  is  to  inform  you  that  your 
"  favor  of  the  30th  ult.,  with  its  inclosure,  got  safe  to  my  hands  by 
"  the  last  post,  and  that  the  latter  shall  have  the  most  attentive 
"  consideration  I  am  able  to  give  it. 

"  A  cursory  reading  it  has  had ;  and  the  sentiments  therein  con- 
"  tained  are  extremely  just,  and  such  as  ought  to  be  inculcated. 


u 
It 
u 


58  WASHINGTON   TO    HAMILTON,    10TII    AUGUST. 

"  The  doubt  that  occurs  at  first  view,  is  the  length  of  it  for  a  news- 
"  paper  publication  ;  and  how  far  the  occasion  would  countenance 
"  its  appearing  in  any  other  form,  without  dilating  more  on  the 
"  present  state  of  matters,  is  questionable.  All  the  columns  of  a 
"  large  gazette  could  scarcely,  I  conceive,  contain  the  present 
draught.  But,  having  made  no  accurate  calculation  of  this 
matter,  I  may  be  much  mistaken. 

If  any  matters  should  occur  to  you  as  fit  subjects  of  communi- 
"  cation  at  the  opening  of  the  next  session  of  Congress,  I  would 
"  thank  you  for  noting  and  furnishing  me  with  them.  It  is  my 
"  wish  and  my  custom  to  provide  all  the  materials  for  the  speech  in 
"  time,  that  it  may  be  formed  at  leisure. 

"  With  sincere  esteem  and  affectionate  regard, 
"  I  am  always  yours, 

"  GEO.  WASHINGTON. 

"Col.  A.  HAMILTON." 


One  fact  that  must  strike  the  reader  upon  perusing  this 
letter,  is  the  great  emphasis  which  Washington  lays  upon 
the  extent  or  magnitude  of  Hamilton's  draught.  Wash 
ington  had,  no  doubt,  intended  his  draught  for  a  news 
paper,  as  being  the  best  instrument  of  diffusive  publication. 
Upon  a  cursory  reading  of  this  draught,  he  perceived,  as  he 
thought,  that  all  the  columns  of  a  large  gazette  would 
scarcely  contain  it ;  and  that  it  was  questionable  whether 
the  occasion  would  countenance  its  appearing  in  another 
form,  without  dilating  more  on  the  present  state  of  matters. 
Indeed,  it  is  the  only  fact  with  regard  to  Hamilton's  draught 
which  the  letter  records,  except  that  his  letter  and  draught 
had  been  received,  and  that  the  draught  had  had  a  cursory 
reading :  and  this  fact  will  be  found  to  have  a  marked  bear 
ing  on  the  main  question  to  be  answered,  namely,  the  con- 


COMPARATIVE    LENGTH    OF    THE    TWO    DRAUGHTS.  59 

tributary  shares  of  Washington  and  Hamilton  in  the 
Farewell  Address. 

The  two  parts  of  Washington's  draught,  which  Mr. 
Sparks  has  printed  in  the  Appendix  to  the  twelfth  volume 
of  Washington's  Writings, — Madison's  draught,  and  Wash 
ington's  part,  called  in  that  Appendix  "  Hints  or  Heads  of 
Topics," — would  have  filled,  as  has  been  remarked,  about 
five  pages  of  printed  matter,, of  the  same  size  as  the  pages 
in  his  Appendix ;  and  if  to  these  be  added  the  beginning 
and  conclusion  of  Washington,  they  will  make  about  a  page 
and  a  half  more ;  and  these  together  would  not  have  made 
up  one-half  of  what  the  columns  of  a  large  newspaper  would 
have  contained.  By  recurring  to  the  copy  of  Hamilton's 
original  draught,  which  is  presented  in  the  seventh  volume 
of  his  Works,  beginning  at  the  top  of  page  575,  it  will  be 
found  to  end  seven  lines  below  the  beginning  of  page  594, 
and  thus  to  contain  nineteen  pages.  The  page  of  Mr. 
Sparks's  Appendix  contains  about  a  fifth  more  matter  than 
Hamilton's  page,  from  which  (we  may  deduce  that  Hamil 
ton's  draught  was  more  than  twofold  larger  than  the  entire 
preparation  of  Washington,  including  all  its  four  parts. 
Washington's  emphatic  remarks  show  that  Hamilton's 
draught  must  have  greatly  exceeded  his  own  in  length, 
without  excluding  from  the  latter  several  long  paragraphs 
which,  in  accordance  with  Washington's  permission,  Hamil 
ton  had  thought  it  expedient  to  omit.  A  more  substantial 
comparison  will  be  made  hereafter. 

Before  the  25th  of  August,  1796,  Washington  must  have 
received  Hamilton's  letter  of  the  10th,  which  inclosed  to 
Washington,  probably  his  own  draught,  and  certainly,  the 
incorporation  with  that  draught  of  Hamilton's  corrections 


60        WASHINGTON'S  LETTER  TO  HAMILTON,  25TH  AUGUST. 

or  emendations ;  for  on  that  25th  of  August,  Washington 
had  in  his  hands  those  two  papers, — his  own  draught,  and 
the  same  draught  corrected  or  amended  by  Hamilton, — with 
which  he  had  compared  a  third  paper,  namely,  the  amended 
copy  of  Hamilton's  original  draught. 

On  that  day,  Washington  addressed  the  following  letter 
to  Hamilton,  returning  to  him  at  the  same  time  the  copy  of 
Hamilton's  original  draught : — 

(PRIVATE.) 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  25th  August,  179G. 
"  MY    DEAR    SlR, — 

"  I  have  given  the  paper  herewith  inclosed  several  serious  and 
"  attentive  readings,  and  prefer  it  greatly  to  the  other  draughts^ 
"  being  more  copious  on  material  points,  more  dignified  on  the 
"  whole,  and,  with  less  egotism,  of  course  less  exposed  to  criticism, 
"  and  better  calculated  to  meet  the  eye  of  the  discerning  reader 
"  (foreigners  particularly,  whose  curiosity,  I  have  little  doubt,  will 
"  lead  them  to  inspect  it  attentively,  and  to  pronounce  their  opinion 
"  on  the  performance)." 

"  When  the  first  draught  was  made,  besides  having  an  eye  to  the 
"  consideration  above  mentioned,  I  thought  the  occasion  was  fair 
"  (as  I  had  latterly  been  the  subject  of  considerable  invective)  to 
"  say  what  is  there  contained  of  myself;  and  as  the  address  was 
"  designed  in  a  more  especial  manner  for  the  yeomanry  of  the 
"  country,  I  conceived  it  was  proper  they  should  be  informed  of 
"  the  object  of  that  abuse,  the  silence  with  which  it  had  been 
"  treated,  and  the  consequences  which  would  naturally  flow  from 
"  such  unceasing  and  virulent  attempts  to  destroy  all  confidence 
"  in  the  executive  part  of  the  government ;  and  that  it  would  be 
"  best  to  do  it  in  language  that  was  plain  and  intelligible  to  their 
"  understandings." 

"  The  draught  now  sent  comprehends  the  most,  if  not  all,  these 
"  matters,  is  better  expressed,  and,  I  am  persuaded,  goes  as  far  as 
"  it  ought,  with  respect  to  any  personal  mention  of  myself." 


WASHINGTON'S  LETTER,  25rni  AUGUST.  61 

f*  I  should  have  seen  no  occasion  myself  for  its  undergoing  a 
"  revision ;  but  as  your  letter  of  the  30th  ult.,  which  accompanied 
"  it,  intimates  a  wish  to  do  this,  and  knowing  that  it  can  be  more 
"  correctly  done  after  a  writing  has  been  out  of  sight  for  some  time, 
"  than  while  it  is  in  hand,  I  send  it  in  conformity  thereto,  with  a 
"  request,  however,  that  you  would  return  as  soon  as  you  have  care- 
"  fully  re-examined  it;  for  it  is  my  intention  to  hand  it  to  the 
"  public  before  I  leave  this  city,  to  which  I  came  for  the  purpose  of 
"  meeting  General  Pinckney,  receiving  the  Ministers  from  Spain 
"  and  Holland,  and  for  the  despatch  of  other  business,  which  could 
"  not  be  so  well  executed  by  written  communications  between  the 
"  heads  of  Departments  and  myself,  as  by  oral  conferences.  So 
"  soon  as  these  are  accomplished,  I  shall  return ;  at  any  rate,  I 
"  expect  to  do  so  by,  or  before,  the  tenth  of  next  month,  for  the 
"  purpose  of  bringing  up  my  family  for  the  winter." 

"  I  shall  expunge  all  that  is  marked  in  the  paper  as  unimportant, 
"  &c.  &c. ;  and  as  you  perceive  some  marginal  notes,  written  with 
"  a  pencil,  I  g^y  you  to  give  the  sentiments  so  noticed  mature 
"  consideration.  After  which,  and  in  every  other  part,  if  change 
"  or  alteration  takes  place  in  the  draught,  let  them  be  so  clearly 
"  interlined,  erased,  or  referred  to  in  the  margin,  as  that  no  mistake 
"  may  happen  in  copying  for  the  press." 

"  To  what  editor  in  this  city  do  you  think  it  had  best  be  sent  for 
"  publication  ?  Will  it  be  proper  to  accompany  it  writh  a  note  to 
"  him,  expressing  (as  the  principal  design  of  it  is  to  remove  doubts 
"  at  the  next  election)  that  it  is  hoped,  or  expected,  that  the  State 
"  printers  will  give  it  a  place  in  their  gazettes ;  or  preferable  to  let 
"it  be  carried  by  my  private  secretary  to  that  press  which  is 
"  destined  to  usher  it  to  the  world,  and  suffer  it  to  work  its  way 
"  afterwards  ?  If  you  think  the  first  most  eligible,  let  me  ask  you 
"  to  sketch  such  a  note  as  you  may  judge  applicable  to  the  oc- 

"  casion." 

"  With  affectionate  regard, 

"  I  am  always  yours, 
"Col.  A.  HAMILTON."  "  GEO.    WASHINGTON. 


WASHINGTON   TO    HAMILTON,    1ST    SEPTEMBER. 

It  is  particularly  worthy  of  observation,  that  Washington, 
after  "  several  serious  and  attentive  readings,"  and  a  fort 
night's  consideration,  remarked  in  this  letter,  that  the  copy 
of  Hamilton's  original  draught  comprehended  "  most  if  not 
"  all  those  matters"  that  personally  concerned  the  feelings 
of  Washington.  He  chose  to  say  it  was  better  expressed, 
and  went  as  far  as  was  proper.  It  leads  me  to  remark,  that 
a  careful  comparison  of  all  that  was  written  on  both  sides, 
will  discover  to  every  person  of  candor,  that  all  Washington's 
sentiments  were  brought  with  infinite  care  into  that  draught, 
nothing  omitted,  nothing  modified,  except  in  such  a  manner, 
in  both  respects,  as  to  obtain  Washington's  approbation,  and 
nothing  added  through  a  personal  design  of  the  writer,  or  in 
reference  to  himself,  but  only  to  give  the  greater  effect  to 
Washington's  own  sentiments. 

On  the  1st  of  September,  Washington  again  wrote  to 
Hamilton  (Hamilton's  Works,  vol.  vi,  p.  147),  saying: — 

"  About  the  middle  of  last  week  I  wrote  to  you;  and  that  it 
"  might  escape  the  eye  of  the  inquisitive  (for  some  of  my  letters 
"  have  lately  been  pried  into),  I  took  the  liberty  of  putting  it  under 
"  a  cover  to  Mr.  Jay." 

"  Since  then,  revolving  on  the  paper  that  was  inclosed  therein, 
"  on  the  various  matters  it  contained,  and  on  the  just  expression  of 
"  the  advice  or  recommendation  which  was  given  in  it,  I  have  re- 
"  gretted  that  another  subject  (which,  in  my  estimation,  is  of  inte- 
"  resting  concern  to  the  well-being  of  this  country)  was  not  touched 

upon  also  :  I  mean  education  generally,  as  one  of  the  surest  means 
"  of  enlightening  and  giving  just  ways  of  thinking  to  our  citizens; 
_"  but  particularly  the  establishment  of  a  university." 

And  then  the  letter  proceeds  at  some  length  to  state  the 


HAMILTON    TO    WASHINGTON,  AND    REPLY,  4TII    AND    CTH    SEPT.      63 

advantages  of  such  an  institution  at  the  seat  of  the  General 
Government,  and  a  purpose,  on  Washington's  part,  to  con 
tribute  to  its  endowment. 

"  Let  me  pray  you,  therefore,  to  introduce  a  section  in  the  Ad- 
"  dress  expressive  of  these  sentiments,  and  recommendatory  of  the 
"  measure,  without  any  mention,  however,  of  my  proposed  personal 
"  contribution  to  the  plan.  Such  a  section  would  come  in  very 
"  properly  after  the  one  which  relates  to  our  religious  obligations, 
"  or  in  a  preceding  part,  as  one  of  the  recommendatory  measures  to 
"  counteract  the  evils  arising  from  geographical  discriminations." 

Hamilton  replied  on  the  4th  of  September : — 

"  NEW  YORK,  Sept.  4th,  1796. 
"  SIR,— 

"  I  have  received  your  two  late  letters,  the  last  but  one  trans- 
"  mitting  me  a  certain  draught.  It  will  be  corrected  and  altered 
"  with  attention  to  your  suggestions,  and  returned  by  Monday's  or 
"  Tuesday's  post.  The  idea  of  the  University  is  one  of  those  which 
"  I  think  will  be  most  properly  reserved  for  your  speech  at  the 
"  opening  of  the  Session.  A  general  suggestion  respecting  educa- 
"  tion,  will  very  fitly  come  into  the  Address. 

"  With  respect,  and  affectionate  attachment, 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  remain, 
"  Sir, 

"  Your  very  obed't  ser't, 
"  A.  HAMILTON. 

"  The  President." 

Washington  replied  on  the  6th  of  September  (Hamilton's 
Works,  vol.  vi,  p.  149):— 

"  I  received  yesterday  your  letter  of  the  4th  instant.  If  the 
"  promised  paper  has  not  been  sent  before  this  reaches  you,  Mr. 


64  HAMILTON   TO    WASHINGTON,  SEPTEMBER    5TH, 

"  Kip,  the  bearer  of  it,  who  goes  to  New  York,  partly  on  mine  and 
"  partly  on  his  own  business,  will  bring  it  safely.  I  only  await  now, 
"  and  shall  in  a  few  days  do  it  impatiently,  for  the  arrival  of  General 
"  Pinckney. 

"  If  you  think  the  idea  of  a  University  had  better  be  reserved 
"  for  the  speech  at  the  opening  of  the  Session,  I  am  content  to  defer 
"  the  communication  of  it  until  that  period;  but  even  in  that  case, 
"  I  would  pray  you,  as  soon  as  convenient,  to  make  a  draught  for 
"  the  occasion,  predicated  on  the  ideas  with  which  you  have  been 
"  furnished;  looking  at  the  same  time,  into  what  was  said  on  this 
"  head  in  my  second  speech  to  the  first  Congress,  merely  with  a  view 
"  to  see  what  was  said  upon  the  subject  at  that  time." 

Hamilton,  on  the  preceding  day,  had  written  thus  to 
Washington : — 

"NEW  YORK,  Sept.  5th,  1796. 
"  SIR,— 

"  I  return  the  draught  corrected  agreeably  to  your  intimations. 
"  You  will  observe  a  short  paragraph  added  respecting  Education. 
"  As  to  the  establishment  of  a  University,  it  is  a  point  which,  in 
"  connection  with  Military  Schools,  and  some  other  things,  I  meant, 
"  agreeably  to  your  desire,  to  suggest  to  you,  as  parts  of  your 
"  speech  at  the  opening  of  the  Session.  There  will  several  things 
"  come  there  much  better  than  in  a  general  Address  to  the  People, 
"  which  likewise  would  swell  the  Address  too  much.  Had  I  had  health 
"  enough,  it  was  my  intention  to  have  written  it  over  ;  in  which  case 
"  I  could  both  have  improved  and  abridged.  But  this  is  not  the 
"  case.  I  seem  now  to  have  regularly  a  period  of  ill-health  every 
"  summer. 

"  I  think  it  will  be  advisable  simply  to  send  the  Address  by  your 
"  secretary  to  Dunlap.  It  will,  of  course,  find  its  way  into  all 
"  the  other  papers.  Some  person  on  the  spot  ought  to  be 


RETURNING   REVISION.      SAME    TO    SAME,    SEPT.    8TH.  65 

"  charged  with   a   careful   examination   of  the  impression  by  the 

"  proof-sheet." 

"  Very  respectfully  and  affectionately, 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
"  Sir, 

"  Your  very  obed't  serv't, 

"  A.  HAMILTON. 

"  The  President." 

On  the  8th  September,  Hamilton  replied  to  Washington's 
letter  of  the  6th:— 

"  NEW  YORK,  Sept.  8th,  1796. 
"  SlK,— 

"  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  6th  by  the  bearer.  The 
"  draught  was  sent  forward  by  post  on  Tuesday. 

"  I  shall  prepare  a  paragraph  with  respect  to  the  University,  and 
"  some  others  for  consideration,  respecting  other  points  which  have 
"  occurred." 

"  With  true  respect  and  attachment, 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
"  Sir, 

"  Your  very  obedient  servant, 

"  A.  HAMILTON. 

"  The  President." 

And  thus  ends  the  correspondence  between  Washington 
and  Hamilton  on  the  subject  of  the  Farewell  Address. 
That  Address  was  dated  and  signed  by  Washington  on  the 
17th  of  September,  nine  days  after  the  date  of  Hamilton's 
last  letter,  and  was  published  on  the  19th  September,  in 
Claypoole's  Daily  Advertiser.  An  acknowledgment  of  the 
safe  arrival  of  Hamilton's  revision,  the  revised  copy  of  his 
amended  draught,  thus  sent  forward  by  post  on  Tuesday, 

5 


66  RESULT    OF    CORRESPONDENCE. 

may  have  been  written  by  Washington;  but  there  is  no 
copy  of  such  an  acknowledgment  by  letter  in  Hamilton's 
Works,  nor  a  copy  of  any  other  letter  from  Washington  to 
Hamilton,  until  the  2d  of  November,  more  than  six  weeks 
after  the  publication  of  the  Farewell  Address  in  the  gazette. 
It  is  made  manifest  by  this  correspondence,  that  if  Wash 
ington's  original  draught  is  well  identified  with  the  preserved 
paper,  and  if  Hamilton's  original  draught,  also,  is  identified 
with  the  paper  printed  in  his  works,  then  we  may  obtain  all 
that  Washington  contributed  specifically  to  the  Farewell 
Address,  and  all  that  Hamilton  contributed,  such  additions 
only  excepted  as  are  found  in  the  Farewell  Address,  and 
cannot  be  traced  to  either  of  the  preceding  draughts ;  and 
these  may  have  been  made  by  new  matter,  or  by  alterations, 
in  Hamilton's  amended  copy  revised,  or  by  Washington  in  his 
autograph  copy.  So  far  as  the  author  of  these  additions  or 
alterations  shall  remain  uncertain  by  the  loss  or  disappearance 
of  Hamilton's  amended  copy  afterwards  revised,  so  far  the 
respective  contributors  of  those  additions  or  alterations  will 
not  be  distinguished  to  absolute  demonstration ;  but  it  will 
be  of  little  prejudice  to  the  result  of  this  Inquiry ;  for  the 
original  basis  of  each  contributor  being  fixed  by  the  two 
draughts, — Washington's  draught  and  Hamilton's  original 
draught, — the  differences  in  the  Farewell  Address  may 
either  be  traced  with  reasonable  certainty  to  one  of  the 
parties,  or  be  disregarded,  as  having  no  influence  upon  the 
main  question. 

It  is  proper  in  this  place,  for  the  better  apprehension  and 
estimation  of  the  proofs,  to  ask  attention  to  one  or  two  matters 
not  already  adverted  to. 

A  corrected  and  amended  copy  of  Hamilton's  original 


THE    ROUGH    REVISION    SENT    TO    WASHINGTON.  67 

draught  passed  once  from  Hamilton  to  Washington,  on  the 
30th  July,  1796,  and  once  came  back  from  Washington  to 
Hamilton,  on  the  25th  of  August  following.  I  say  a  cor 
rected  and  amended  copy,  because  Hamilton's  letter  of  5th 
July  promised  that  he  would  "shortly  transcribe,  correct, 
and  forward  it;"  and  he  indorsed  on  the  rough  original, 
"  Copy  of  the  original  draught,  considerably  amended" 

Washington's  draught,  and  the  transcript  of  that  draught 
corrected  by  Hamilton,  which,  as  will  hereafter  be  seen,  was 
read  by  Hamilton  to  Jay,  having  been  sent  by  Hamilton  to 
Washington  on  the  10th  of  August,  and  put  aside,  with  his 
own  preparatory  draught,  by  Washington's  letter  of  25th  of 
August,  from  his  great  preference  for  Hamilton's  draught, 
they  were  not  the  subject  of  remark  by  either  party  after 
wards.  They  may,  therefore,  be  dismissed  from  further 
consideration  in  this  place. 

Hamilton's  copy  of  the  original  draught  being  returned 
to  him  on  the  25th  of  August  for  revision,  with  certain 
remarks,  he  proceeded  to  revise  and  correct  it,  and  returned  it 
to  Washington  on  Tuesday,  the  6th  September.  This  revi 
sion  did  not  come  to  Hamilton's  hands  again,  and  was  not 
the  subject  of  further  remark  between  the  parties.  Hamilton 
sent  it  to  Washington  in  the  rough  state  in  which  the  revi 
sion  had  left  it,  because,  as  his  letter  remarks,  he  had  not 
health  at  the  time  to  transcribe  it.  The  almost  necessary 
presumption,  therefore,  is,  that  the  amended  copy  of  the 
original  draught  was  the  very  paper  that  wTas  revised  and 
sent  back.  If  the  copy  had  been  revised  and  corrected  on 
fair  paper,  there  was  nothing  in  the  corrections,  as  we  can 
very  safely  infer  from  the  Farewell  Address,  when  compared 
with  the  original  draught,  of  which  the  copy  is  said  by 


68  THE    MISSING   REVISION.      NO    CORRECTIONS 

Hamilton  to  have  been  considerably  amended,  that  such  a 
writer  as  Hamilton  would  not  have  made  on  such  paper, 
without  defacing  it  to  a  degree  that  would  have  called  for 
an  apology.  The  corrections,  we  may  presume,  were  en 
tirely  verbal, — adding  a  clause  on  education,  and  writing 
that,  perhaps,  in  the  margin,  with  a  mark  of  reference  to  its 
place  in  the  body  of  the  Address,  which  may  account  for 
what  will  be  found  to  have  happened  to  it  in  Washington's 
autograph  copy.  This,  however,  is  to  some  extent  conjec 
tural;  for  Hamilton's  revision  of  the  amended  copy  of  his 
original  draught  is  not  accessible  to  me,  nor  has  it  been  at 
any  time,  as  I  understand,  to  Hamilton's  family.  I  have  re 
ceived  very  credible  intimations,  that  it  has  been  seen  at  the 
city  of  Washington,  many  years  since  Washington's  death. 
But,  for  the  purposes  of  this  Inquiry,  or  for  the  purpose  of 
gaining  any  weight  whatever  to  aid  the  proof  of  the  previous 
existence  and  transmission  of  the  original  draught  to  Wash 
ington,  or  of  its  internal  character  as  an  exemplar  of  the  Ad 
dress,  I  place  no  reliance  on  these  intimations.  They  are 
noticed  only  to  keep  alive  the  hope,  that  the  paper,  if  exist 
ing,  may  be  placed  where  it  may  be  used  either  for  the  con 
firmation,  or  for  the  refutation  of  this  Essay.  It  is  impossi 
ble  for  any  person  to  stand  in  a  state  of  more  pure  neutrality 
than  I  do,  as  to  the  direction  in  which  the  evidence  shall 
incline  the  scale  of  literary  or  artistic  merit  in  the  Farewell 
Address,  to  one  or  the  other  party.  It  does  not,  in  truth, 
concern  either  Washington  or  Hamilton.  In  their  lives 
they  were  far  above  such  a  consideration ;  and  since  death 
has  sealed,  indestructibly,  the  reputation  of  each,  different 
as  the  respective  elements  of  it  were,  the  whole  question,  in 
this  aspect,  is  of  no  moment  whatever.  It  is  the  higher 


OF    IT    BY   WASHINGTON,    BEFORE    IT    LAST    CAME    TO    HIM.        69 

consideration  of  perfect  honor,  fidelity,  and  truth  on  each 
side,  in  the  whole  transaction,  that  has  given  interest  to  a 
statement  of  the  entire  evidence,  preparatory  to  some  final 
remarks  on  the  bearing  of  the  parties,  after  the  Farewell 
Address  was  published  to  the  world,  in  regard  to  the  proofs 
of  co-operation. 

After  thus  showing  incontestably,  by  the  correspondence, 
that  the  amended  copy  of  Hamilton's  original  draught  passed 
once  to  Washington,  and  came  back  to  Hamilton,  and  that 
this  paper,  revised  by  Hamilton,  passed  once  to  Washington, 
(  and  never  came  back,  and  that  Washington  had  not  in  the 
Vjnean while  touched  line  or  word,  and  did  not  touch  line  or 
word  in  the  body  of  the  work,  before  it  finally  came  back 
to  his  hands,  nine  or  ten  days  before  he  signed  his  Farewell 
Address, — he  said  only  "  I  shall  expunge"  certain  parts,  and 
made  pencil  notes  in  the  margin  for  consideration  of  other 
parts, — we  are  not  only  better  prepared  to  estimate  any 
alterations  Washington  made  after  it  came  back  to  him,  but 
are  quite  prepared,  at  this  time,  to  dissent  from  the  language 
which  Mr.  Sparks  has  used,  not  certainly  for  the  purpose  of 
obscuring,  but  to  the  actual  obscuration,  of  the  question  of 
relative  contribution  by  Washington  and  Hamilton  to  the 
Farewell  Address. 

It  may  be  true  literally,  as  Mr.  Sparks  says,  that  "  several 
"  letters  passed  between  them."  Suggestions  were  made  on 
"  both  sides,  some  of  which  were  approved  and  adopted, 
"  others  disapproved  and  rejected.  The  draughts  were 
"  sent  back  and  forth  from  one  to  the  other."  All  this  may 
be  true  literally,  but  it  is  not  substantially  correct,  to  the 
effect  of  confounding  the  work  of  Hamilton  with  the  work 
of  Washington  in  the  Farewell  Address.  Washington,  at 


70  WASHINGTON'S  FULL  ADOPTION  or  IT. 

the  outset,  proposed  clauses  in  regard  to  party  invectives, 
and  personal  sensibility  to  them,  which  Hamilton  did  not 
approve;  and  Washington  acquiesced  in  the  rejection  of 
them.  Hamilton  made  the  work  "  more  copious  on  material 
"  points,  more  dignified  on  the  whole,  and  with  less  egotism ;" 
and  Washington  approved.  Washington  did  not  reject 
a  single  sentence  that  Hamilton  had  written  or  suggested. 
He  said,  "  I  shall  expunge  certain  clauses,  as  unimpor- 
"  tant,"  &c.  &c. ;  and  we  shall  see  what  they  were  by  his 
autograph  copy.  Seven  days  after  Hamilton's  revised 
draught  was  sent  back  to  him,  Washington  suggested  two 
new  clauses,  one  of  which.  Hamilton  thought  out  of  place, 
and  Washington  acquiesced  in  its  rejection;  the  other 
Hamilton  said  would  fitly  come  into  the  revision,  and  it 
is  found  in  the  place  which  Washington  had  pointed  out 
as  appropriate.  The  draughts  did  not  go  back  and  forth 
from  the  one  to  the  other,  in  the  true  sense  of  that  idiom. 
In  such  a  connection,  the  expression  implies  repetition,  for 
the  purpose  of  mutual  correction  and  change.  It  is  the 
same  as  to  and  fro, — several  times  in  opposite  directions,  for 
mutual  criticism  and  alteration.  The  facts  show  that  there 
was  nothing  like  it. 

The  great  fact  that  comes  out  of  the  correspondence,  is, 
that  Washington,  speaking  of  Hamilton's  draught,  after  a 
fortnight's  consideration,  adopts  it,  with  full  and  strong 
/  praise  of  its  excellence,  greater  copiousness  and  dignity,  and 
with  manifest  satisfaction  at  the  prospect  of  its  impression 
upon  discerning  readers,  foreigners  especially.  I  honor  and 
revere  Washington  infinitely  too  much  to  believe,  that  he 
could  have  expressed  this  satisfaction,  in  connection  with 
the  thought  that  Hamilton's  relation  to  the  paper  was  to 


WASHINGTON'S  ADOPTION  OF  THE  REVISION.  71 

be  forever  concealed,  to  the  abounding  of  his  own  praise. 
The  thought  was  impossible  to  him.  His  own  sentiments, 
in  their  full  presentment,  must  have  been  the  source  of 
his  satisfaction,  and  not  his  praise  from  the  manner  of  pre 
senting  them.  He  did  not  see  for  himself  that  there  was 
any  occasion  to  revise  the  draught.  He  returned  it  only  in 
accordance  with  the  writer's  wish,  for  his  further  improve 
ment  of  it. 

There  is  even  stronger  proof  of  Washington's  adoption  of 
this  draught,  than  these  expressions.  Upon  returning  the 
draught  for  Hamilton's  revision,  Washington  expressly  re 
quested,  that  if  change  or  alteration  should  take  place  in  it, 
it  should  be  so  clearly  interlined,  erased,  or  referred  to  in  the 
margin,  as  that  no  mistake  might  be  made  in  copying  it  for 
the  press  ;  thus,  in  some  degree,  adopting  Hamilton's  subse 
quent  corrections  by  anticipation.  And  well  and  safely 
might  Washington  do  so,  after  perceiving  how  faithfully, 
and  with  what  true  discernment  and  feeling,  his  own  sen 
timents  had  been  already  appreciated  and  expressed  by 
Hamilton. 

This  full  adoption  by  Washington  of  Hamilton's  corrected 
original  draught,  with  more  than  Washington's  usual  effu 
sion  of  feeling  and  language,  taken  in  connection  with  his 
eagerness  to  have  it  sent  back  to  him  without  delay,  so  dis 
tinctly  marked  in  any  new  corrections,  as  that  it  might 
readily  be  copied  for  the  press,  and  with  his  further  inquiry 
in  regard  to  the  particular  gazette  that  was  to  publish  it, 
and  his  request  for  the  draught  of  a  letter  to  the  editor,  if 
that  course  should  be  thought  best  by  Hamilton,  do  amount 
to  such  persuasive  proof  that  the  revised  draught  of  Hamil 
ton,  with  or  without  minor  alterations  by  Washington, 


72  MR.    SPARKS'S    DOUBTS    OF    WASHINGTON'S    DRAUGHT. 

would  be  copied  for  the  press,  signed,  and  published  by  him 
as  his  Farewell  Address,  that  even  if  Hamilton's  original 
draught  and  abstract,  as  well  as  the  amended  and  revised 
draught,  had  been  destroyed  or  lost  forever,  no  person  accus 
tomed  to  weigh  evidence  would  hesitate  to  say,  from  the 
necessary  import  of  Washington's  and  Hamilton's  letters, 
that  the  Farewell  Address  was  copied  and  printed  from 
a  draught  by  Hamilton,  and  not  from  Washington's  draught, 
nor  from  that  draught  corrected  by  Hamilton.  I  shall  post 
pone  for  the  present,  a  further  accumulation  of  proofs  to  the 
same  effect,  until  I  have  introduced  another  topic. 

That  preparatory  draught  of  Washington,  the  same  which 
Mr.  Sparks  has  described,  and  I  have  called,  the  preserved 
paper,  is  so  well  identified  as  the  draught  which  Washing 
ton  sent  to  Hamilton  on  the  15th  May,  1796,  that  it  must 
be  unnecessary  to  say  more  on  that  point.  A  draught  was 
sent  by  Washington  to  Hamilton  at  that  time,  beyond  all 
doubt.  This  preserved  paper  corresponds  with  it  in  all  the 
points,  which  the  letter  of  that  date  refers  to.  There  is  no 
other  draught  or  paper  by  Washington,  and,  as  far  as  appears, 
there  never  has  been,  to  compete  with  that  preserved  paper, 
for  the  character  it  bears,  as  a  preparatory  draught  by  Wash 
ington  of  a  Farewell  Address.  Its  own  claims  to  be  that 
draught,  are  the  strongest  possible  on  the  face  of  the  pre 
served  paper ;  and  there  is  not,  nor  does  there  appear  ever 
to  have  been,  a  paper  by  Washington,  that  has  any  claims 
whatever  to  stand  in  its  place.  The  preserved  paper  was, 
therefore,  the  draught  of  Washington,  which  he  sent  to 
Hamilton  at  the  date  referred  to. 

Yet,  from  the  inability  of  Mr.  Sparks  so  to  regard  it,  has 
proceeded  all  the  indistinctness  of  his  views  in  regard  to  the 


THE    TIME    OF    JAY  S    INTERVIEW    WITH    HAMILTON.  7 6 

several  contributions  of  the  two  parties ;  and  he  appears  to 
have  been  fortified  in  it  by  Mr.  Jay's  letter  to  Judge  Peters. 
Though  not  distinct  in  his  views  of  the  degree  of  participa 
tion  which  each  party  had  in  the  Farewell  Address,  Mr. 
Sparks  is  very  distinct  in  his  expressions,  that  there  were  no 
means  of  ascertaining  what  Washington's  draught  was, 
though  he  admits  that  a  draught  had  been  "  prepared"  by 
Washington.  He  remarks  that  Hamilton's  "  note"  (of  the 
10th  May,  1796)  "is  dated  more  than  four  months  before 
"  the  Farewell  Address  was  published;  and  it  appears  that 
"  a  draught  of  some  sort,  had  already  been  '  prepared'  by 
"  Washington."  "  What  were  the  contents  of  the  draught 
"  here  alluded  to,  there  are  now  no  means  of  ascertaining  "  And 
again :  referring  to  the  paper  in  his  own  possession  as  editor 
of  Washington's  Writings,  which  he  has  described  as  Hints, 
or  Heads  of  Topics,  he  says, — "  Whether  these  hints  were 
"  sent  to  Hamilton,  as  here  written,  or  to  what  extent  they 
"  were  previously  enlarged  and  arranged,  cannot  now  be 

"  told:9 

The  result  with  Mr.  Sparks,  therefore,  was,  that  there  was 
no  point  of  beginning  or  starting,  to  make  his  survey  of  the 
joint  contribution ;  and  the  non-existence  of  a  ground  plot, 
by  Washington,  of  what  he  had  contributed  in  particular, 
was  consequently  something  like  a  desideratum  to  one,  the 
state  of  whose  information  disposed  him  to  leave  the  definite 
contribution  of  each  of  the  parties  in  uncertainty.  It  is  from 
this  feeling,  I  incline  to  think,  Mr.  Sparks  took  some  sup 
port  from  ]\£r.  Jay's  letter  which  he  quotes,  as  showing  that 
Washington's  draught  had  not  been  seen  by  Mr.  Jay,  and 
that  the  character  of  that  draught  was  therefore  still  an  un 
certainty.  Mr.  Jay's  error,  in  thinking  that  the  Farewell 


74  MR.  JAY'S  LETTER  TO   JUDGE  PETERS. 

Address  was,  and  could  only  be  with  propriety,  Washington's 
draught  corrected  by  Hamilton,  was,  however,  a  very  much 
greater  error  than  that  of  Mr.  Sparks,  who  erred  only  in 
point  of  expectation,  that  Washington's  draught  could  not 
be  identified. 

That  interview  between  Hamilton  and  Jay,  which  Mr. 
Jay's  letter  to  Judge  Peters  describes,  after  previously  giving 
at  great  length,  his  opinions  of  Washington,  and  especially 
of  certain  points  in  Washington's  character,  and  of  certain 
internal  evidence  in  the  Farewell  Address,  to  sustain  his 
conviction  that  Washington  only  was  the  writer  of  the  Ad 
dress,  merits  particular  consideration. 

It  was  after  the  30th  July,  1796,  and  before  the  10th  of 
August  following,  that  the  interview  occurred.  The  date  is 
irrefragably  fixed  in  this  manner.  Hamilton's  letter  of  5th 
July  to  Washington,  states  that  his  own  original  draught  was 
then  completed,  though  not  copied  and  corrected.  In  his 
letter  to  Washington,  of  the  30th  July,  Hamilton  sent  the 
corrected  copy  of  it  to  Washington,  and  said :  "I  have 
"  begun  the  second  part  of  the  task,  the  digesting  the  supple- 
"  mentary  remarks  to  the  first  address,  which,  in  a  fortnight,  / 
"  hope  also  to  send  you."  This  was  Washington's  draught 
corrected  "  upon  the  general  plan  of  it."  On  the  10th  of 
August,  Hamilton  sent  that  corrected  draught  to  Washing 
ton.  This,  therefore,  was  the  corrected  draught  which,  be 
tween  these  last  two  dates,  had  been  read  by  Hamilton  to 
Jay,  in  that  interview. 

It  is  proper,  in  this  place,  to  make  a  copious  extract  from 
the  letter  of  Mr.  Jay  to  Judge  Peters,  of  the  29th  March, 
1811,  from  the  "  Life  and  Writings  of  John  Jay,"  vol.  ii, 
p.  336:— 


Mil.  JAY'S  LETTER  TO  JUDGE  PETERS.  75 

:<  Your  letter  conveyed  to  me  the  first  and  only  information  I 
"  liave  received,  that  a  copy  of  President  Washington's  Valedictory 
;<  Address  had  been  found  among  the  papers  of  General  Hamilton, 
"  and  in  his  handwriting ;  and  that  a  certain  gentleman  had  also  a 
"  copy  of  it  in  the  same  handwriting." 

"  The  intelligence  is  unpleasant  and  unexpected.  Had  the 
"  Address  been  one  of  those  official  papers  which,  in  the  course  of 
"  affairs,  the  Secretary  of  the  proper  Department  might  have  pre- 
"  pared, ,  and  the  President  have  signed,  these  facts  would  have 
"  been  unimportant;  but  it  was  a  personal  act, — of  choice,  not  of 
"  official  duty, — and  it  was  so  connected  with  other  obvious  conside- 
"  rations,  as  that  he  only  could  with  propriety  write  it.  In  my 
"  opinion  President  Washington  must  have  been  sensible  of  this 
"  propriety ;  and,  therefore,  strong  evidence  would  be  necessary  to 
"  make  me  believe  that  he  violated  it.  Whether  he  did  or  did  not, 
"'is  a  question  which  naturally  directs  our  attention  to  whatever 
"  affords  presumptive  evidence  respecting  it ;  and  leads  the  mind 
"  into  a  long  train  of  correspondent  reflections.  I  will  give  you  a 
"  summary  of  those  which  have  occurred  to  me  ;  not  because  I  think 
"  them  necessary  to  settle  the  point  in  question,  for  the  sequel  will 
"  show  that  they  are  not,  but  because  the  occasion  invites  me  to 
"  take  the  pleasure  of  reviewing,  and  bearing  testimony  to  the 
"  merits  of  our  departed  friend." 

"  Is  it  to  be  presumed,  from  these  facts,  that  General  Hamilton 
"  was  the  real,  and  the  President  only  the  reputed  author  of  that 
"  Address?  Although  they  countenance  such  a  presumption,  yet  I 
"  think  its  foundation  will  be  found  too  slight  and  shallow  to  resist 
"  that  strong  and  full  stream  of  counter-evidence  which  flows  from 
"  the  conduct  and  character  of  that  great  man :  a  character  not 
"  blown  up  into  transient  splendor  by  the  breath  of  adulation,  but 
"  being  composed  of  his  great  and  memorable  deeds,  stands,  and 
"  will  forever  stand,  a  glorious  monument  of  human  excellence." 

The  writer  then  proceeds  to  review  at  great  length  the 
character  and  acts  of  Washington,  and  his  abilities  as  a 


76  MR.  JAY'S  LETTER  TO  JUDGE  PETERS. 

writer  especially,  occupying  nearly  six  pages  of  the  volume 
with  this  subject;  and,  distinguishing,  at  their  close,  between 
the  full  composition  of  such  an  address,  and  the  correction 
of  it,  which  might  be  a  friendly  office,  he  proceeds  to  say : — 

"  Among  those  to  whose  judgment  and  candor  President  Wash- 
"  ington  would  commit  such  an  interesting  and  delicate  task,  where 
"  is  the  man  to  be  found  who  would  have  had  the  hardihood  to  say 
"  to  him  in  substance, — Sir,  I  have  examined  and  considered  your 
"  draught  of  an  address :  it  will  not  do ;  it  is  really  good  for 
"  nothing.  But,  sir,  I  have  taken  the  trouble  to  write  a  proper 
"  one  for  you;  and  I  now  make  you  a  present  of  it.  I  advise  you 
"  to  adopt  it,  and  to  pass  it  on  the  world  as  your  own.  The  cheat 
"  will  never  be  discovered,  for  you  may  depend  on  my  secrecy. 
"  Sir,  I  have  inserted  in  it  a  paragraph  that  will  give  the  public  a 
"  good  opinion  of  your  modesty.  I  will  read  it  to  you ;  it  is  in 
"  these  words :  i  In  the  discharge  of  this  trust,  I  will  only  say, 
"  *  that  I  have  with  good  intentions  contributed  towards  the  organi- 
"  '  zation  and  administration  of  the  government,  the  best  exertions 
"  '  of  which  a  very  fallible  judgment  was  capable.  Not  unconscious 
"  '  in  the  outset  of  the  inferiority  of  my  qualifications,  experience 
"  i  in  my  own  eyes,  perhaps  still  more  in  the  eyes  of  others,  has 
"  '  strengthened  the  motives  to  diffidence  of  myself.'  ' 

"  If  it  be  possible  to  find  a  man  among  those  whom  he  esteemed 
"  capable  of  offering  to  him  such  a  present,  it  is  impossible  to  believe 
"  that  President  Washington  was  the  man  to  whom  such  a  present 
"  would  have  been  acceptable.  They  who  knew  President  Wasli- 
"  ington,  and  his  various  endowments,  qualifications,  and  virtues, 
"  know  that,  aggregately  considered,  they  formed  a  tout  ensemble 
"  which  has  rarely  been  equalled,  and  perhaps  never  excelled." 

"  Thus  much  for  presumptive  evidence.  I  will  now  turn  your 
"  attention  to  some  that  is  direct. 

"  The  history  (if  it  may  be  so  called)  of  the  Address,  is  not  un- 


MR.  JAY'S  LETTER  TO  JUDGE  PETERS.  77 

"  known  to  me ;  but  as  I  came  to  the  knowledge  of  it  under  implied 
"  confidence,  I  doubted,  when  I  first  received  your  letter,  whether  I 
"  ought  to  disclose  it.  On  more  mature  reflection,  I  became  con- 
"  vinced  that  if  President  Washington  was  now  alive,  and  informed 
"  of  the  facts  in  question,  he  would  not  only  authorize,  but  also 
"  desire  me  to  reduce  it  to  writing,  that,  when  necessary,  it  might 
"  be  used  to  invalidate  the  imputations  to  which  those  facts  give 
"  color.  This  consideration  terminated  my  doubts.  I  do  not  think 
"  that  a  disclosure  is  necessary  at  this  moment ;  but  I  fear  such  a 
"  moment  will  arrive.  Whether  I  shall  then  be  alive,  or  in  capacity 
"  to  give  testimony,  is  so  uncertain,  that,  in  order  to  avoid  the  risk 
"  of  either,  I  shall  now  reduce  it  to  writing,  and  commit  it  to  your 
"  care  and  discretion,  de  bene  esse,  as  the  lawyers  say." 

"  Some  time  before  the  Address  appeared,  Colonel  (afterwards 
"  General)  Hamilton  informed  me,  that  he  had  received  a  letter 
"  from  President  Washington,  and  with  it  the  draught  of  a  Fare- 
"  well  Address,  which  the  President  had  prepared,  and  on  which 
"  he  requested  our  opinion.  He  then  proposed  that  we  should  fix  a 
"  day  for  an  interview  at  my  house  on  the  subject.  A  day  was  ac- 
a  cordingly  appointed/  On  that  day  Colonel  Hamilton  attended. 
"  He  observed  to  me,  in  words  to  this  effect :  that  after  having  read 
"  and  examined  the  draught,  it  appeared  to  him  to  be  susceptible  of 
"  improvement — that  he  thought  the  easiest  and  best  way  was  to 
"  leave  the  draught  untouched  and  in  its  fair  state,  and  to  write  the 
"  whole  over,  with  such  amendments,  alterations,  and  corrections  as 
"  he  thought  were  advisable,  and  that  he  had  done  so.)  He  then 
"  proposed  to  read  it,  and  to  make  it  the  subject  of  our  considera- 
"  tion.  This  being  agreed  upon,  he  read  it ;  and  we  proceeded 
"  deliberately  to  discuss  and  consider  it,  paragraph  by  paragraph, 
"  until  the  whole  met  with  our  mutual  approbation.  Some  amend- 
"  ments  were  made  during  the  interview,  but  none  of  much  impor- 
"  tance.  Although  this  business  had  not  been  hastily  despatched, 
"  yet  aware  of  the  consequence  of  such  a  paper,  I  suggested  the 
"  giving  it  a  further  critical  examination ;  but  he  declined  it,  say- 


78  MR.  JAY'S  LETTER  TO  JUDGE  PETERS. 

"  ing  that  he  was  pressed  for  time,  and  was  anxious  to  return  the 
"  draught  to  the  President  without  delay.  It  afterward  occurred  to 
"  me,  that  a  certain  proposition  was  expressed  in  terms  too  general 
"  and  unqualified,  and  I  hinted  it  in  a  letter  to  the  President." 

"  As  the  business  took  the  course  above  mentioned,  a  recurrence 
"  to  the  draught  was  unnecessary,  and  it  was  not  read.  There  was 
"  this  advantage  in  the  course  pursued, — the  President's  draught 
"  remained  (as  delicacy  required)  fair,  and  not  obscured  by  inter- 
"  lineations,  &c.  By  comparing  it  with  the  paper  sent  with  it,  he 
"  would  immediately  observe  the  particular  emendations  and  correc- 
"  tions  that  were  proposed,  and  would  find  them  standing  in  their 
"  intended  places.  Hence  he  was  enabled  to  review  and  decide  on 
"  the  whole  matter,  with  much  greater  clearness  and  facility  than 
"  if  he  had  received  them  in  separate  and  detached  notes,  and  with 
"  detailed  references  to  the  pages  and  lines  where  they  were  advised 
"  to  be  introduced." 


All  this  occurred,  we  must  bear  in  mind,  "  some  time  be- 
"  fore  the  Address  appeared"  (the  19th  September).  It  can 
hardly  be  supposed,  that  what  Mr.  Jay,  after  the  lapse  of 
fifteen  years,  still  recollected  as  some  time,  was  less  than  some 
weeks,  in  conformity  with  the  date  of  Hamilton's  letter  of 
the  10th  of  August. 

I  do  not  in  this  place  pause  to  make  a  commentary  upon 
the  earlier  part  of  this  letter,  the  ironical  part  of  it  espe 
cially  ;  nor  upon  that  singular  misconception  of  Washington's 
true  greatness,  which  made  him  accept  from  the  hands  of 
Madison,  and  afterwards  tenaciously  hold  to,  those  very  ex 
pressions,  which  Mr.  Jay  supposed  that  no  man  living,  who 
had  Washington's  esteem,  would  have  presented  to  him, 
and  which  he  therefore  regarded  as  presumptive  evidence 
that  the  writing  which  contained  them  could  have  been 


MR.  JAY'S  LETTER  TO  JUDGE  PETERS.  79 

written  by  Washington  only.  I  cannot,  however,  avoid 
remarking  at  this  time,  that  this  first  elaborate  argument 
against  the  suggestion  that  Washington  had  received  assist 
ance  in  the  composition  of  the  Farewell  Address,  so  far  as 
it  was  founded  upon  presumption  from  the  language  of  that 
Address,  or  from  the  character  of  Washington,  is  over 
thrown  by  facts  then  existing,  though  unknown  to  Mr.  Jay, 
and  which  are  now  perfectly  clear  and  plain ;  and  so  far  as 
it  was  founded  on  the  facts  of  that  interview  between  Ham 
ilton  and  Jay,  is  superseded  by  his  own  now  manifest  mis 
take,  in  supposing  that  a  part  of  the  case  in  regard  to  the 
formation  of  the  Farewell  Address,  was  the  whole.  I  will 
restrict  my  use  of  the  paper  in  this  place,  however,  to  the 
concluding  part  of  the  extract,  or  rather  to  Mr.  Sparks's 
inference  from  it,  as  he  quotes  it  in  his  Appendix  to  the 
twelfth  volume  of  Washington. 

It  is  irrefragably  deducible  from  this  statement,  supposing 
Mr.  Jay's  recollections  of  the  interview  to  have  been  per 
fectly  accurate,  after  the  lapse  of  fifteen  years,  that  the 
paper  which  Hamilton  read  to  him  was  Washington's 
draught,  "  corrected  upon  the  general  plan  of  it,"  which  Ha 
milton,  in  his  letter  of  5th  July,  said  he  should  prepare  and 
send  forward.  Washington's  draught,  Mr.  Jay  says,  was 
not  read  at  that  time,  the  course  of  the  business  having 
made  a  recurrence  to  it  unnecessary;  which  course  Mr. 
Jay  describes,  as  being  that  of  reading  from  another  paper, 
the  draught  including  the  particular  emendations  and  cor 
rections  that  were  proposed,  and  which  emendations  and 
corrections,  by  comparing  his  draught  with  this  paper, 
Washington  would  find  standing  in  their  proper  places. 

After  copying,  in  his  Appendix  to  the  twelfth  volume  of 


80  MR.  SPARKS'S    REMARKS   UPOX   IT. 

Washington's  Writings,  this  portion  of  Jay's  letter,  Mr. 
Sparks  says: — 

"  It  may  be  observed,  that  Mr.  Jay  does  not  profess  to  have  seen 
"  Washington's  first  draught ;  and,  of  course,  he  could  not  know 
"  what  alterations  and  amendments  had  been  made  by  Hamilton. 
"  He  evidently  received  the  impression,  however,  that  the  transcript 
"  was  in  its  matter  essentially  the  same  as  the  original." 

The  fact  that  Washington's  draught  was  not  read  at  that 
interview,  is  very  clearly  stated  in  Mr.  Jay's  letter ;  though 
there  is  nothing  in  the  letter  which  professes  that  Mr.  Jay 
had  not  seen  the  draught,  nor  which  implies  that  the 
draught  was  absent.  The  contrary  would  be  implied,  both 
from  the  office  to  be  performed  by  the  parties,  and  by  the 
general  context  of  Mr.  Jay's  letter.  From  Mr.  Jay's  not 
catching  the  name  at  the  foot  of  the  paper,  he  certainly  did 
not  read  it ;  for  the  name  was  perfectly  visible  under  the  line 
which  erased  it,  as  well  as  the  words  crossed  by  lines  above. 
It  is  not  material  whether  Mr.  Jay  received  the  impression 
that  the  transcript  was  in  its  matter  essentially  the  same  as 
the  original,  or  not ;  though  I  think  there  is  not  a  word  in 
the  letter  that  implies  such  an  impression,  and  it  must  have 
been  a  remarkable  correction  and  emendation,  if  the  tran 
script  was  in  its  matter  essentially  the  same  as  the  original. 
But  this  is  of  no  importance.  The  material  conclusion  of 
Mr.  Sparks  is,  that  Mr.  Jay  could  not  know  what  alterations 
and  amendments  had  been  made  by  Hamilton.  This  in 
ference  is  not  quite  just  to  Mr.  Jay,  nor  is  it  quite  logical, 
from  the  premises  which  Mr.  Jay  states ;  for  the  alterations 
and  amendments  which  had  been  made  by  Hamilton  in 


THE    SUBJECT    OF    THE    INTERVIEW.  81 

transcribing  it,  might  have  been  known  by  marks  on  the 
transcript,  or  by  Hamilton's  manner  of  reading  it  or  com 
menting  upon  it ;  and  in  one  of  these  ways  it  must  have 
been  known,  or  Mr.  Jay  would  have  omitted  to  perform  the 
office   which    Hamilton,   in  Washington's   behalf,   had  re 
quested  of  him, — that  of  giving  an  opinion  upon  the  draught 
which  "  the  President  had  prepared."     Without  some  such 
knowledge  of  the  draught,  indeed  without  marks  of  some 
kind  on  the  transcript  or  on  the  draught,  it  is  difficult  to 
understand  how  Mr.  Jay  could  write  as  he  does,  that  "  by 
"  comparing  it  (the   President's   draught)   with  the  paper 
"  sent  with  it,  he  (the  President)  would  immediately  observe 
"  the  particular  emendations  and  corrections  that  were  pro- 
"  posed,  and  would    find   them  standing  in   their  intended 
"places.     Hence  he  was  enabled  to  review  and  to  decide  on 
"  the  whole  matter  with  much  greater  clearness  and  facility, 
"  than  if  he  had  received  them  in  separate  and  detached 
"  notes,  and  with  detailed  references  to  the  pages  and  lines 
"  where  they  were  advised  to  be  introduced."     What  clear 
ness  and  facility,  and  immediate  observation,  could  Mr.  Jay 
have  been  able  to  predicate  of  alterations  and  amendments 
to  a  draught  of  which  he  knew  nothing,  directly  or  indi 
rectly,  wrought  moreover  into  the  body  of  the  transcript, 
without  anything  in  original  or  transcript  to  guide  to  them  ] 
Or  how  could  he  know  that  they  would  be  discovered,  except 
by  a   laborious    collation  of  every  part   of   Washington's 
draught  with  every  part  of  the  transcript  \     It  seems  to  be  a 
great  injustice  to  Mr.  Jay,  to  suppose  that  he  could  not  know 
what  alterations  and  amendments  Hamilton  had  made ;  for 
this  is  saying  that  he  had  only  heard  the  transcript  read, 
and  did  not  know  what  part  was  Washington's,  and  what 

G 


82  ORIGINAL    DRAUGHT    OF   WASHINGTON 

Hamilton's,  though  the  very  point  of  reference  to  him,  for 
the  joint  opinion  of  Hamilton  and  himself,  was  Washington's 
draught,  which  was  submitted  to  them  for  their  opinion. 

These  remarks  may  seem  to  be  superfluous ;  for,  whether 
accurate  or  inaccurate,  they  have  little  bearing  on  the  main 
point.  But  in  reading  this  portion  of  Mr.  Sparks's  note  on 
the  Farewell  Address,  1  have  been  at  some  loss  to  know, 
why  the  omission  to  read  "  the  President's  draught,"  at  that 
interview,  and  this  inability  of  Mr.  Jay  to  know  what  the 
alterations  and  amendments  of  Hamilton  were,  are  empha 
sized  by  Mr.  Sparks ;  and  whether  it  implies  a  doubt  on  the 
part  of  Mr.  Sparks,  that  the  draught  sent  by  Washington  to 
Hamilton  on  the  15th  May  was  before  Mr.  Jay  at  that  in 
terview,  or  was  the  same  paper  which  contained  the  quo 
tation  of  Madison's  draught  and  the  "  Hints,  or  Heads  of 
44  Topics,"  or  was  something  else,  unknown  to  Mr.  Sparks, 
leaving  the  character  of  that  draught  by  Washington  a 
matter  of  still  impenetrable  obscurity. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  state  of  Mr.  Sparks's 
opinion,  when  he  wrote  his  remarks  upon  the  Farewell 
Address  in  the  twelfth  volume  of  Washington's  Writings, 
I  have  little  doubt  that,  with  the  fuller  information  that  has 
since  appeared,  he  cannot  but  be  at  present  of  the  opinion  that 
Madison's  draught  and  the  "  Hints,  or  Heads  of  Topics,"  with 
the  beginning  and  conclusion  I  have  referred  to,  did  consti 
tute  the  draught  which  Washington  sent  to  Hamilton  with 
the  letter  of  the  15th  May.  The  fact,  without  any  reason 
able  doubt,  is  so;  and  that  what puriwted  to  be  the  draught 
of  Washington,  was  before  Hamilton  and  Jay  at  the  time  of 
that  interview,  cannot  be  seriously  questioned  by  anybody. 

That    is    the    important    tact,    that   Washington's   own 


THE    SUBJECT    OF    TIN-     INTERVIEW. 


draught  was  the  subject  that  was  before  them,  with  Hamil 
ton's  corrections  of  that  draught ;  and  that  no  other  draught 
was  before  them.  Washington's  draught,  and  Hamilton's 
transcript  of  that  draught  with  corrections,  were  the  two 
matters  before  them,  if  they  were  two  matters ;  or  the  tran 
script  of  Washington's  draught  with  Hamilton's  corrections, 
was  the  one  matter  before  them,  if  it  was  one  matter.  And 
nothing  else  was  before  them.  And  this  settles  entirely  the 
relevancy  of  Mr.  Jay's  letter. 

Mr.  Jay  was  perfectly  ignorant  at  that  time,  and  probably 
to  the  end  of  his  valuable  life,  that  any  original  draught  of 
a  Farewell  Address  by  Hamilton  was  thought  of,  by  either 
Washington  or  Hamilton ;   and  as  much  so,  of  course,  of 
the  fact,  that  a  copy  of  such  a  draught  had  been  sent  by 
Hamilton  to  Washington,  before  the  time  of  tlmt  interview. 
The  fact  of  such  a  draught  by  Hamilton,  concerned  himself 
as  well  as  Washington.     It  was  a  matter  still  pending.     It 
had  no  bearing  upon  the  matter  which  concerned  Wash 
ington  only,  to  wit,  his  own  draught,  for  the  improvement 
of  which  Hamilton,  under  Washington's  authority,  asked 
the  conference  with  Mr.  Jay.     Hamilton,  therefore,  appears 
not  to  have  confided  that  independent  matter  to  Mr.  Jay. 
It  is  from  Mr.  Jay's  ignorance  of  this,  and  of  some  other  cir 
cumstances,  that  his  defective  view  of  the  question  of  the 
Farewell  Address  proceeded,  as  will  be  further  shown  here 
after. 

Recurring  now  to  the  two  leading  papers,  Washington's 
preparatory  draught  and  Hamilton's  original  draught,  with 
out  at  present  adverting  to  Hamilton's  amendment  and 
revision  of  his  own  draught,  I  will  so  far  anticipate  the  con 
clusion  that  may  be  drawn  from  a  fuller  view  of  the  whole 


84       GENERAL  RELATION  TO  THE  FAREWELL  ADDRESS 

matter,  as  to  state  my  apprehension  of  the  general  relation 
which  they  bear  to  the  finished  Farewell  Address.  An  ana 
lysis  of  Hamilton's  abstract  and  original  draught  hereafter 
will  demonstrate  it. 

The  fundamental  or  radical  thoughts  of  the  Farewell 
Address  appear  in  Washington's  preparatory  draught,  and 
without  reference  to  plan  or  style,  and  with  little  obligation 
otherwise  to  Madison's  draught,  which  followed  Washing 
ton's  outline,  they  were  originally  and  substantially  Wash 
ington's.  The  selection  of  those  thoughts  was  his.  The 
responsibility  for  them  was  his.  The  individuality,  for  use 
in  the  Farewell  Address,  was  his.  In  what  was  most  strictly 
personal  to  him,  the  language  of  the  preparatory  draught 
was  frequently,  and  as  often  as  it  could  be,  brought  into  the 
body  of  Hamilton's  draught,  and  from  that  into  the  Address. 
In  other  instances,  also,  the  language  of  Washington  wras  to 
some  extent  incorporated  with  the  thoughts.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  expurgation  of  Washington's  draught  was  Hamil 
ton's.  The  plan  of  the  Farewell  Address  was  that  of  Hamil 
ton's  original  draught.  The  central  and  dominant  thought 
of  the  political  part  of  his  draught,  and  of  that  Address,  was 
selected  by  him  from  Washington's  thoughts,  and  made  the 
governing  principle  of  the  whole.  The  bearing  of  other 
thoughts  upon  that  centre  was  devised  by  him,  and  the 
separate  suggestions  which  appeared  in  various  places  in 
Washington's  draught,  Hamilton  developed  and  augmented, 
and  worked  into  his  draught ;  and  he  sustained  them,  not  in 
the  direct  logical  form,  but  with  collateral  illustrations  and 
supports  of  his  own,  by  which  he  combined  and  justified  the 
thoughts  of  Washington,  and  made  the  whole  of  this  por 
tion  of  the  Address  which  followed  his  draught,  as  much  an 


OF  WASHINGTON'S  DRAUGHT  AND  HAMILTON'S  DRAUGHT.      85 

argument,  as  Washington's  draught  had  made  it  a  decla 
ration  of  his  political  faith. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  speak  of  Hamilton's  intellectual  capa 
city  for  the  part  of  the  work  that  was  assigned  to  him ;  but 
his  special  qualification  for  it  was  moral,  as  much  as  it  was 
intellectual.  It  was  his  full  sympathy  with  Washington  in 
both  his  personal  and  political  aspirations.  He  knew  better 
than  any  man  what  Washington  felt  and  thought,  and  as 
well  as  any  man  what  Washington  ought  to  feel  on  the 
occasion,  both  as  a  President  and  as  a  man ;  and  he  knew 
better  than  Washington  what  Washington  ought  to  say,  and 
what  he  ought  to  suppress,  in  matters  which  had  person 
ally  wronged  him.  Perhaps  any  man  of  sense  and  discretion 
is  a  better  judge  in  this  last  particular  than  the  party  him 
self;  but  Hamilton's  special  fitness  as  an  adviser  in  such  a 
matter,  sprang  from  his  true  conception  of  Washington's 
greatness,  from  sympathy  with  his  glory,  from  a  perfect 
apprehension  of  the  estimate  which  the  world  had  formed 
of  him,  from  accordance  with  him  as  to  both  the  men  and 
the  policy  that  were  opposed  to  him,  and  as  to  the  proper 
principles  of  administration  under  the  Constitution ;  while, 
at  the  same  time,  Hamilton  himself  was  free  from  every 
particle  of  rivalry  or  competition  with  the  great  chief  of  the 
country,  and  supremely  elevated  above  the  desire  or  thought 
of  vindicating  any  wrongs  of  his  own,  through  the  resent 
ments,  in  the  same  direction,  of  any  person  whatever. 

Two  men  were  never  better  fitted  for  just  such  a  joint 
work  ;  fitted  by  different,  and  even  by  contrasting,  qualities, 
and  by  reciprocal  trust  and  respect. 

Hamilton  habitually  approved  Washington's  great  pur 
poses,  and  generally  his  suggestions  made  upon  deliberate 


86  RESPECTIVE    QUALIFICATIONS    FOR   THE   WORK, 

consideration.  Washington,  on  the  other  hand,  approved 
what  Hamilton's  constructive  as  well  as  analytical  mind 
built  up  or  developed  from  Washington's  suggestions,  or 
corrected  by  wise  qualifications ;  and  ceased  to  approve  even 
a  suggestion  of  his  own,  after  Hamilton  had  shown  that  it 
was  out  of  place  in  the  position  given  to  it,  or  out  of  parallel 
or  keeping  with  the  ideal  which  Washington's  admirers 
throughout  the  world  had  formed  of  him.  Hamilton  was 
slow,  therefore,  to  consent  to  Washington's  abating  any  por 
tion  of  his  claims  through  an  excessive  modesty,  or  impairing 
them  by  condescending  to  rebuke  the  invectives  which  had 
irritated  him,  as  he  knew  him  to  be  far  above  their  reach  on 
the  great  theatre  of  the  world ;  though  he  was  ready  to  be 
overruled  where  Washington  was  to  speak  personally ;  and 
probably  felt  himself  to  be  overruled,  in  retaining  certain 
parts  of  Mr.  Madison's  language. 

Washington's  practical  and  executive  life — that  great  pre 
paration  of  his  virtues  for  the  destiny  that  awaited  him — took 
him  away  in  early  youth  from  long  scholastic  training  in 
letters,  and  made  them  of  secondary  pursuit  with  him  after 
wards.  He  was  not  addicted  to  complex  or  formal  compo 
sition,  though  he  wrote  well  and  effectively.  The  seeds  of 
all  sound  political  and  moral  action  were  in  him,  and  they 
grew  and  expanded  with  his  position,  until  it  became  the 
highest  in  the  country ;  and  his  also  was  a  singularly  wise 
judgment  to  apply  the  work  of  another  in  aid  of  his  own 
knowledge  or  design ;  but  suggestiveness  and  facility  were 
not  the  most  striking  properties  of  his  mind.  Hamilton,  on 
the  other  hand,  strenuously  cultivated  from  his  youth,  his 
remarkable  genius  for  speculative  inquiry,  for  political  and 
legal  argument,  and  for  arrangement  and  order  in  the  mar- 


OF    THE    TWO    PARTIES.  87 

shalling  of  his  thoughts  for  either  persuasion  or  demonstra 
tion.  His  was  the  germinating,  arranging,  and  exhibitive 
mind,  the  mind  to  make  a  structure  from  the  separate  mate 
rials  provided  by  the  mind  of  Washington ;  but  no  structure 
that  Hamilton  or  any  one  could  raise,  was  beyond  the  accu 
rate  survey  and  scrutiny  of  Washington,  or  his  ability  to 
appreciate  the  nature  and  degree  of  the  connection,  depen 
dency,  and  coherence  of  the  parts.  Such  was  the  adaptation 
of  Washington  and  Hamilton  to  the  work  of  the  Farewell 
Address. 

Hamilton's  original  draught,  as  printed  in  the  seventh 
volume  of  his  Works, — of  which  a  corrected  copy  was  sent 
to  Washington  on  the  30th  July,  1796, — is  the  starting- 
point  in  the  collation  and  comparison  of  Hamilton's  work, 
with  the  Farewell  Address.  The  draught  was  altogether 
Hamilton's  preparation,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the 
genuineness  and  authenticity  of  this  document.  The  ori 
ginal,  in  his  handwriting,  is  deposited  in  the  Department  of 
State.  The  copy  in  his  Works  has  been  published  under 
the  authority  of  Congress.  It  is  printed  in  such  a  manner 
as,  by  reference  to  words  and  sentences  at  the  foot  of  the 
pages,  to  indicate  what  are  called  in  the  first  note,  "  the 
"final  alterations  in  this  draught,"  which  does  not  mean 
the  final  alterations,  from  the  corrected  copy  sent  to  Washing 
ton  the  30th  July,  nor  from  the  revision  sent  to  Washington 
on  the  6th  September;  but  the  final  alterations  in  this,  the 
original  draught,  before  it  was  amended  and  sent  to  Wash 
ington,  on  the  30th  July. 

The  comparison  of  the  Farewell  Address  must,  in  the 
first  instance,  be  made  with  this  draught.  The  revision  of 
the  draught,  or,  as  Hamilton  expressed  it  in  his  letter  to 


88  TIIE    DISAPPEARANCE    OF 

Washington  of  5th  September,  "  the  draught  corrected 
"  agreeably  to  your  intimations,"  was  sent  to  Washington 
on  the  6th  September,  having  been  returned  by  Washington 
to  Hamilton  for  revision,  at  his  request,  on  the  25th  August. 
It  was  not  found,  Mr.  Sparks  says,  among  the  papers  of 
Washington.  Doubtless  Mr.  Sparks  has  never  seen  it.  It 
may,  or  may  not,  appear  hereafter. 

The  disappearance  of  this  paper  is  remarkable.  It  is  the 
only  paper  which  relates  to  the  formation  of  the  Farewell 
Address,  that  has  disappeared  from  the  papers  of  Wash 
ington  on  this  head,  from  the  year  1792.  All  the  other 
papers,  it  will  be  seen,  came  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Sparks, 
the  editor  of  Washington's  Writings.  There  were  several 
of  them,  without  including  the  letters  of  Madison  or 
Hamilton ; — Madison's  draught,  Washington's  copy  of  that 
draught,  his  own  paper,  called  by  Mr.  Sparks  "  Hints,  or 
"  Heads  of  Topics,"  Washington's  completed  paper  sent  to 
Hamilton,  and  Hamilton's  correction  of  that  paper  by  incorpo 
ration  of  amendments.  They  were  all  found  among  the  papers 
of  Washington.  This  copy  of  Hamilton's  original  draught, 
his  revision,  is  acknowledged  by  Washington,  commented 
upon  by  him  several  times  by  letter,  was  returned  by  Wash 
ington  to  Hamilton,  sent  back  to  Washington,  after  revision, 
by  Hamilton,  according  to  Washington's  urgent  request,  for 
the  purpose  of  being  immediately  copied  and  sent  to  the 
press  ;  and  though  its  safe  arrival  does  not,  from  any  letter 
that  remains,  appear  to  have  been  expressly  acknowledged 
by  Washington,  the  short  clause  on  Education  prepared  by 
Hamilton  at  Washington's  instance,  expressly  mentioned  by 
Hamilton  as  having  been  made  in  the  revision,  and  which 
appears  in  Washington's  Farewell  Address,  in  the  place  which 


89 


Washington  pointed  out  in  Hamilton's  copy  where  it  might 
conveniently  come  in, — that  little  clause,  if  every  other  proof 
had  failed,  is  as  full  a  letter  of  acknowledgment  that  the 
revision  had  come  back  safely  to  Washington's  hands,  as  the 
most  formal  receipt  which  Washington  could  have  signed. 
All  these  papers  were  probably  kept  together  by  Wash 
ington  in  one  place,  after  the  Farewell  Address  was  pub 
lished.  We  know  Washington's  extraordinary  habits  of 
order  and  care  in  the  arrangement  and  preservation  of  his 
papers.  His  editor  has  shown  it,  in  the  preface  to  his  work. 
All  the  other  papers  I  have  described,  remained  at  his  death ; 
and  they  passed  into  the  possession  of  his  nephew  and 
legatee,  Bushrod  Washington,  one  of  the  most  pure,  single- 
minded,  conscientious,  and  virtuous  men,  whom  this  or  any 
other  country  has  produced.  All  the  papers  of  Washington 
were  his  special  bequest  to  this  nephew,  the  venerated 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
the  United  States  for  the  District  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
died  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  26th  of  November,  1829;  and 
four  or  five  years  before  that  time,  he  had  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Sparks  the  mass  of  Washington's  papers,  for 
the  preparation  of  an  edition  of  Washington's  Writings. 

No  person  upon  earth,  who  knew  Bushrod  Washington, 
can  possibly  believe  that  such  a  paper  as  Hamilton's  draught, 
or  any  other  important  paper  in  Washington's  cabinet  at 
Mount  Vernon,  could  have  been  separated  or  displaced  from 
the  mass  by  him,  or  with  his  consent,  for  the  purpose  of 
concealment.  It  is  equally  impossible  that  it  could  have 
been  so  separated  and  put  aside  by  Mr.  Sparks,  or  with  his 
consent.  I  have  the  fullest  faith,  and  so  must  every  one 
have,  who  knows  the  character  of  Mr.  Sparks,  that  this 


90  DISAPPEARANCE    OF    HAMILTON'S 

paper  did  not  come  into  his  possession.  He  has  stated  to 
that  effect,  in  a  written  list  of  the  papers  appertaining  to 
the  Farewell  Address,  which  was  prepared  several  years 
since,  a  copy  of  which  I  have  seen. 

It  would  be  dangerous,  and  is  quite  unnecessary,  to 
indulge  in  any  speculations  concerning  the  loss  or  displace 
ment  of  this  paper.  I  should  be  willing  to  suppose  it  to 
have  been  altogether  an  accident ;  and  so  far  as  imputations 
from  me  are  concerned,  it  must  be  considered  as  so  regarded 
on  my  part ;  but  there  is  an  intimation  (as  Mr.  Jay's  reply 
states  it)  in  Judge  Peters's  letter  to  Mr.  Jay  of  the  14th 
March,  1811,  that  there  were  two  copies  of  the  Farewell 
Address,  in  Hamilton's  handwriting,  of  which  Judge  Peters 
had  been  recently  informed, — one  among  the  papers  of 
General  Hamilton,  and  another  in  the  possession  of  a 
certain  person,  whose  name  is  not  mentioned.  As  the  only 
two  papers  in  Hamilton's  handwriting,  which  could  purport 
to  be  copies  of  the  Farewell  Address,  were  the  original 
draught  of  Hamilton,  and  the  copy  sent  to  Washington, 
jiamelf ,  the  paper  now  in  question,  there  may  doubtless  be, 
in  this  intimation,  a  reference  to  the  missing  paper.  But  it 
is  useless  to  attempt  to  follow  it  out,  with  so  imperfect  a 
light,  which  possibly  may  also  be  a  deceptive  one.  One 
remark,  and  one  only,  will  suffice,  before  I  proceed  to  other 
matters. 

The  missing  paper  could  not  have  been  displaced  or  taken 
with  a  view  to  assist  the  claims  of  Hamilton  or  his  family 
to  the  authorship  of  the  Farewell  Address.  If  there  was 
any  consciousness  in  regard  to  the  question  of  authorship, 
by  the  person  who  took  possession  of  it,  the  paper  would 
have  been  produced  before  this,  if  it  had  been  of  a  nature  to 


AMENDED    AND    REVISED    DRAUGHT.  91 

defeat  those  claims ;  and  no  friend  to  Hamilton's  claims 
would  have  suppressed  it,  if  it  had  been  found  to  make 
those  claims  perfectly  demonstrative  without  the  trouble  of 


argument. 


One  consequence  of  the  absence  of  this  revision  must  be 
kept  in  mind, — and  it  is  quite  an  important  one,  unless  it 
can  be  supplied  to  some  extent,  as  it  probably  can  be. 
As  the  original  draught  of  Hamilton  was  "  considerably 
"  amended,"  as  well  as  revised  and  corrected  by  him,  and  as 
Washington,  also,  altered  some  of  the  words  of  the  revision, 
we  have  no  absolute  assurance  that  the  words  of  the  Fare 
well  Address  which  are  not  found  in  the  original  draught, 
were  contained  in  Hamilton's  amended  copy,  or  in  his 
revision  of  it;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  that  they  were 
placed  in  the  Farewell  Address  by  Washington  himself. 
And  the  like  must  be  said  of  any  part  of  the  original 
draught,  which  is  not  found  in  the  Farewell  Address.  We 
have  no  absolute  assurance  that  such  part  was  struck  out  by 
Hamilton,  in  his  amended  copy,  or  in  the  revision ;  for  it 
may  have  been  struck  out  by  Washington  after  the  revision 
came  to  his  hands.  Either  Hamilton  or  Washington  may 
have  done  it.  Which  of  them  did  it,  will  be  a  question  of 
probabilities,  when  we  look  at  the  differences,  as  shown  in 
the  light  of  Washington's  autograph  Address.  The  main 
question  of  authorship,  in  the  literary  sense,  will  not  however 
be  sensibly  affected  by  the  absence  of  Hamilton's  revision. 

In  comparing  the  original  draught  of  Hamilton  with  the 
Farewell  Address,  which  the  reader  must  to  a  great  degree 
do  for  himself,  the  characteristics  of  identity  in  mechanism 
and  substance  will  be  found  to  be  very  strong  in  the  follow 
ing  particulars :  1.  The  length  or  extent  of  each  is  about  the 


92  COMPARISON    OF   HAMILTON'S    DRAUGHT 

same,  and  the  material  almost  wholly  the  same.    The  extent, 
about  nineteen  printed  pages,  largely  exceeds  any  draught 
of  Washington  that  consisted  only  of  the  materials  noticed 
in  Mr.  Sparks's  Appendix,  or  were  sent  by  Washington  to 
Hamilton  with  his  letter  of  15th  May.     It  exceeds  them 
more  than  twofold,  which  is  quite  sufficient  to  account  for 
Washington's  remark  in  his  letter  of  10th  August:  "  the 
"  doubt  that  occurs  at  first   view  is  the  length  of  it  for  a 
"  newspaper  publication."     2.  The  number  of  paragraphs  is 
about  the  same.     In  the  Farewell  Address  they  are  fifty- 
one  ;  in  the  original  draught  they  are  fifty.     But  there  have 
been  a  few  divisions  and  consolidations  of  original  paragraphs 
of  the  Farewell  Address,  as  it  stands  in  Washington's  Works, 
and  one  paragraph  has  certainly  been  added  by  Hamilton  in 
his  revision,  and  two  or  three  by  him,  or  by  Washington, 
The  final  result  is,  that  the  paragraphs  are  still  about  the 
same  in  number.     3.  And  this  is  material :  the  order  or  col- 
location   of  paragraphs,  and  the  subjects  of  them,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  two  papers,  the  original  draught 
and  the  Farewell   Address,  is  one  and  the  same,  making 
allowance  for  the  division  and  consolidation  of  paragraphs 
before  named,  and  the  expansion  in  two  instances.     There 
is  no  transposition  of  the  order  that  we  have  detected,  except 
in  a  partial  degree,  in  a  single  instance,  where  part  of  a  para 
graph  at  the  end  of  page  576  and  the  beginning  of  page  577  of 
the  original  draught  in  the  seventh  volume  of  Hamilton's 
Works,  is  wrought  into  the  last  two  clauses  of  the  Farewell 
Address.    In  more  than  twenty  instances  the  paragraphs  in  the 
Farewell  Address  begin  with  the  identical  words  of  the  corres 
ponding  paragraphs  in  the  draught,  treating  of  the  same  sub 
jects  in  almost  the  same  language  to  the  close.    In  at  least  nine 


WITH    FAREWELL   ADDRESS.  93 

other  instances,  a  word  at  the  beginning  of  a  paragraph  in 
the  draught  is  changed  in  the  Farewell  Address ;  as  essen 
tially  for  substantially ;  cherish  good  faith,  for  observe  good 
faith ;  towards  the  execution,  for  in  the  execution ;   in  UJce 
manner,  for  so  likewise;  why  should  we  forego,  for  why forego  ; 
in  reference  to  the  prevent  war  of  Europe,  for  in  relation  to  the 
subsisting  icar  in  Europe  ;  offer  deliberate  consideration,  for 
after  deliberate  examination  ;  to  the  duration  and  efficacy  of 
your  Union,  for  to  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your  Union  ; 
I  have  already  observed,  for  I  have  already  intimated.     In  all 
these  instances  the  corresponding  paragraphs  proceed  with 
the  same  subject,  and  generally  in  the  same  language  to  the 
close.     Such  differences  are  a  conclusive  proof  of  origin,  by 
uniform  limitation  of  change,  along  with  uniform  continu 
ation  of  subject,  and  generally  of  words,  without  any  change. 
This  conformity  in  subject  and  language  may  be  illustrated 
by  a  paragraph,  taken  as  an  instance,  from  the  body  of  the 
Farewell  Address,  being  the  sixteenth  paragraph  of  that 
Address,  and  the  nineteenth  of  Hamilton's  original  draught, 
six  of  Hamilton's  previous  paragraphs  having  been  consoli 
dated  in  three  in  the  Address,  one  having  been  divided  into 
two,  and  one  altogether  omitted. 

HAMILTON.  WASHINGTON. 

ORIGINAL    DRAUGHT.  FAREWELL    ADDRESS. 

To  the  duration  and  efficacy  of  your  To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your 
Union,  a  government  extending  over  the  Union,  a  government  for  the  whole  is  in- 
whole  is  indispensable.  No  alliances,  how-  dispensable.  No  alliances,  however  strict 
ever  strict  between  the  parts,  could  be  between  the  parts,  can  be  an  adequate 
an  adequate  substitute.  These  could  substitute ;  they  must  inevitably  experi- 
not  fail  to  be  liable  to  the  infractions  ence  the  infractions  and  interruptions 
and  interruptions  which  all  alliances  in  which  all  alliances  in  all  times  have  ex- 


94 


PARALLEL  PARAGRAPH  IN  EACH. 


all  times  have  suffered.  Sensible  of  this 
important  truth,  you  have  lately  esta 
blished  a  Constitution  of  general  govern 
ment,  better  calculated  than  the  former 
for  an  intimate  union,  and  more  adequate 
to  the  duration  of  your  common  concerns. 
This  government,  the  offspring  of  your 
own  choice,  uninfluenced  and  uriawed, 
completely  free  in  its  principles,  in  the 
distribution  of  its  powers,  uniting  energy 
with  safety,  and  containing  in  itself  a 
provision  for  its  own  amendment,  is  well 
entitled  to  your  confidence  and  support. 
Respect  for  its  authority,  compliance 
with  its  laws,  acquiescence  in  its  mea 
sures,  are  duties  dictated  by  the  funda 
mental  maxims  of  true  liberty.  The 
basis  of  our  political  systems  is  the  right 
of  the  people  to  make  and  to  alter  their 
constitutions  of  government.  But  the 
Constitution  for  the  time,  and  until 
changed  by  an  explicit  and  authentic 
act  of  the  whole'people,  is  sacredly  bind 
ing  upon  all.  The  very  idea  of  the  right 
and  power  of  the  people  to  establish  go 
vernment,  presupposes  the  duty  of  every 
individual  to  obey  the  established  govern 
ment. — Hamilton's  Works,  vol.  vi,  p.  582. 


perienced.  Sensible  of  this  momentous 
truth,  you  have  improved  upon  your  first 
essay  by  the  adoption  of  a  Constitution 
of  government  better  calculated  than 
your  former  for  an  intimate  union,  and 
for  the  ejpcacious  management  of  your 
common  concerns.  This  government,  the 
offspring  of  our  own  choice,  uninfluenced 
and  unawed,  adopted  upon  full  investi 
gation  and  mature  deliberation,  com 
pletely  free  in  its  principles,  in  the  dis 
tribution  of  its  powers,  uniting  security 
with  energy,  and  containing  within  itself 
a  provision  for  its  own  amendment,  has 
a  just  claim  to  your  confidence  arid  your 
support.  Respect  for  its  authority,  com 
pliance  with  its  laws,  acquiescence  in  its 
measures,  are  duties  enjoined  by  the  fun 
damental  maxims  of  true  liberty.  The 
basis  of  our  political  system  is  the  right 
of  the  people  to  make  and  to  alter  their 
constitutions  of  government.  But  the 
Constitution  which  at  any  time  exists, 
till  changed  by  an  explicit  and  authentic 
act  of  the  whole  people,  is  sacredly  obli 
gatory  upon  all.  The  very  idea  of  the 
power  and  the  right  of  the  people  to  esta 
blish  government,  presupposes  the  duty  of 
every  individual  to  obey  the  established 
government. —  Washington's  Writings, 
vol.  xii,  p.  222. 


It  is  not  speaking  too  strongly  to  say  that  the  third  cha 
racteristic  I  have  mentioned,  is  decisive.  It  is  decisive  of 
the  origin  of  the  Farewell  Address,  whatever  may  have  been 
the  verbal  alterations  of  Hamilton's  original  draught,  or  of 
Hamilton's  revision  of  that  draught,  or  by  Washington's 


BEARING    OX    QUESTION    OF    ORIGIN.  95 

autograph  copy — even  attributing  all  the  changes  to  Wash 
ington,  and  none  of  them  to  Hamilton's  correction  and 
revision.  If  a  paper  of  fifty  paragraphs  is  found  thus  to 
conform  to  a  paper  that  preceded  it,  and  especially  to  one 
that  was  written  to  be  the  exemplar  of  it,  in  corresponding 
paragraphs,  identical  subjects  and  thoughts,  and  closely  in 
language,  though  with  an  occasional  difference  in  words, 
every  reasonable  person  must  say  that  the  first  paper  was 
the  source  of  the  second. 

Mr.  Babbidge,  in  the  ninth  Bridgewater  Treatise,  has  ex 
pressed  mathematically,  the  proportional  value  of  all  human 
experience  against  a  miracle, — Mr.  Hume's  theory, — as  being 
two  hundred  thousand  millions  against  one ;  and  at  the  same 
time  has  shown  by  the  same  method,  that  the  improbabilities 
of  error  in  the  agreement  of  six  independent  witnesses  of 
good  character,  unknown  to,  or  without  collusion  with,  each 
other,  and  not  deceived  respectively  more  than  once  in  a 
hundred  times,  and  testifying  to  the  restoration  to  life  of  a 
dead  man,  are  fivefold  as  great,  that  is  to  say,  a  million 
millions  against  one.  We  have  at  least  the  benefit  of  the 
Humean  proportional  improbability  against  the  preparation 
by  one  man  of  such  a  paper  as  the  Farewell  Address,  with 
out  following  the  preceding  paper  written  by  another  man ; 
for  certainly  all  human  experience  is  against  it.  But,  far 
beyond  that,  we  have  nearly  fifty  paragraphs  as  witnesses, 
testifying  exactly  in  the  same  direction ;  and,  considering 
the  perhaps  infinite  variety  of  thoughts,  language,  taste,  and 
arrangement  in  the  written  compositions  of  different  men 
from  the  same  theme,  we  may  be  entitled  to  say,  that  no 
finite  succession  of  numbers  can  express  the  true  extent  of 
the  improbability  of  such  a  correspondence  as  exists  be- 


96  SOURCES  OF  HAMILTON'S  DRAUGHT. 

tween  the  Farewell  Address  and  Hamilton's  original 
draught,  without  the  copying  of  the  one,  either  mediately 
or  immediately,  from  the  other. 

The  Farewell  Address,  if  thus  compared  with  Hamilton's 
original  draught,  will  be  found  to  be  a  transcript  of  the 
draught,  with  verbal  corrections,  and  the  omission  of  certain 
clauses,  adding  three  or  four  short  clauses  at  the  most — 
alterations  by  Hamilton,  or  by  Washington,  or  partly  by 
one,  and  partly  by  the  other. 

This  review  of  the  two  structures,  throws  us  back  to  the 
source  or  sources  of  Hamilton's  original  draught.  If  Ham 
ilton  was  the  author  of  his  original  draught,  that  is  to  say, 
the  composer  and  writer  of  it,  and  the  Farewell  Address 
was  a  transcript  of  that  draught  with  verbal  corrections,  and 
a  clause  or  two  struck  out  or  added,  then  Hamilton  was  in 
the  same  sense  the  composer  and  writer  of  the  Farewell 
Address. 

But  was  Hamilton  the  composer  and  writer  of  his  original 
draught  ]  This  is  a  perfectly  proper  question,  and  a  sensible 
one,  also ;  for  a  writer  may  have  copied  and  not  composed 
the  paper,  which  another  has  followed,  or  he  may  have  taken 
frequent  and  large  sentences  from  the  works  of  other  men, 
and  mechanically  followed  their  plan  and  arrangement  in  all 
points.  He  may  have  formed  his  own  paper  to  a  great 
extent  from  antecedent  materials,  giving  it  very  little  of  his 
own,  so  that  he  is  only  the  compiler  of  the  paper. 

There  exist  authentic  materials  for  answering  this  question 
with  very  considerable  certainty,  and  which  answer  will  do 
Washington  full  justice,  and  Madison  also  all  the  justice  that 
can  be  claimed  for  him.  That  justice  is  to  be  derived  through 
Washington's  preparatory  draught — the  preserved  paper. 


HAMILTON'S  ABSTRACT  OF  POINTS.  97 

Hamilton,  with  the  just  view  of  making  the  paper  he  was 
about  to  write,  conform  to  the  sentiments  of  Washington, 
either  expressed  or  understood,  and  meaning  also  to  produce 
a  paper  that  should  by  its  topics,  and  the  order  of  their  de 
velopment,  engage  and  impress  the  minds  of  patriotic  and 
wise  men  throughout  the  country,  prepared  an  "  abstract  of 
"  points  to  form  an  Address,"  which  is  printed  in  the  seventh 
volume  of  his  published  Works,  page  570 ;  and  this  paper 
has  such  a  clear  and  important  bearing  upon  the  question  of 
authorship,  and  has  received  so  little  attention  from  any  one 
heretofore  in  this  relation,  that  it  must  have  the  more  of  it 
at  this  time. 

The  points  or  divisions  of  matter  are  twenty-three  in 
number,  distinguished  by  Roman  numerals. 

The  first  ten  of  these  divisions,  without  any  subdivisions 
among  them,  embrace  the  expression  of  Washington's  sen 
timents  and  feelings  in  regard  to  the  announcement  of  his 
intention  to  retire ;  his  previous  hope,  that  long  ere  this  it 
would  have  been  in  his  power  to  do  so ;  and  that  he  had 
nearly  come  to  a  final  resolution  in  the  year  1792  to  do  it, 
but  had  been  dissuaded  from  it  by  the  peculiar  situation  of 
affairs,  and  the  advice  of  confidential  friends ;  his  acqui 
escence  at  that  time  in  a  further  election,  in  hopes  that  a 
year  or  two  longer  would  have  enabled  him  to  withdraw ; 
but  that  a  continuance  of  causes  had  delayed  it  till  now, 
when  the  position  of  our  country,  abroad  and  at  home,  jus 
tified  him  in  pursuing  his  inclination :  and  that  in  doing  it, 
he  had  not  been  unmindful  of  his  relation  as  a  dutiful  citizen 
to  his  country,  nor  was  he  now  influenced  by  the  slightest  di 
minution  of  zeal  for  its  interest,  or  gratitude  for  its  past  kind 
ness,  but  by  a  belief  that  the  step  was  compatible  with  both. 

7 


98  HAMILTON'S  ABSTRACT  OF  POINTS. 

These  sentiments  occupy  the  first  four  divisions,  by  which 
it  may  be  seen  how  carefully  Hamilton  prepared  himself  to 
carry  the  spirit  of  Washington,  even  in  minute  personal  par 
ticulars,  into  the  Address. 

Still  continuing  the  writer's  preparation  of  heads  to  intro 
duce  like  particulars,  the  fifth  head  adverts  to  the  fact  that 
the  impressions  under  which  Washington  first  accepted  the 
office  were  explained  on  the  proper  occasion :  the  sixth,  '  that 
'  in  the  execution  of  it,  he  had  contributed  the  best  exertions 
'  of  a  very  fallible  judgment,  anticipated  his  insufficiency, 
6  experienced  his  disqualifications  for  the  difficult  trust,  and 
'  every  day  a  stronger  sentiment  from  that  cause  to  yield  the 
'  place.  Advance  into  the  decline  of  life,  every  day  more  sen- 
6  sible  of  weight  of  years,  of  the  necessity  of  repose,  of  the 
'  duty  to  seek  retirement,'  &c.  "  Add,  seventh,  It  will  be 
"  among  the  purest  enjoyments  which  can  sweeten  the  rem- 
"  nant  of  his  days,  to  partake,  in  a  private  station,  in  the 
"  midst  of  his  fellow-citizens,  the  laws  of  a  free  government, 
"  the  ultimate  object  of  his  cares  and  wishes." 

The  eighth  division  records  the  single  word  "  Rotation ;" 
a  subject  introduced  into  Madison's  draught  at  Washington's 
suggestion.  The  ninth,  that  "  in  contemplating  the  moment 
"  of  retreat,  he  cannot  forbear  to  express  his  deep  acknow- 
"  ledgments  and  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  many  honors  con- 
"  f erred  on  him — the  steady  confidence  which,  even  amidst 
"  discouraging  scenes  and  efforts  to  poison  its  source,  has 
"  adhered  to  support  him,  and  enabled  him  to  be  useful — 
"  marking,  if  well  placed,  the  virtue  and  wisdom  of  his 
"  countrymen.  All  the  return  he  can  now  make  must  be  in 
"  the  vows  he  will  carry  with  him  in  his  retirement :  1st.  For 
"  a  continuance  of  the  Divine  beneficence  to  the  country. 


HAMILTON'S  ABSTRACT  OF  POINTS.  99 

"  2d.  For  the  perpetuity  of  their  union  and  brotherly  affec- 
"  tion — for  a  good  administration  insured  by  a  happy  union 
"  of  watchfulness  and  confidence.  3d.  That  happiness  of 
"  people  under  auspices  of  liberty  may  be  complete.  4th. 
"  That  by  a  prudent  use  of  the  blessing,  they  may  recom- 
"  mend  it  to  the  affection,  the  praise,  and  the  adoption  of 
"  every  nation  yet  a  stranger  to  it." 

The  tenth  is  as  follows :  "  Perhaps  here  we  ought  to  end. 
"  But  an  unconquerable  solicitude  for  the  happiness  of  his 
"  country  will  not  permit  him  to  leave  the  scene,  without 
"  availing  himself  of  whatever  confidence  may  remain  in 
"  him  to  strengthen  some  sentiments  which  he  believes  to  be 
"  essential  to  their  happiness,  and  to  recommend  some  rules 
"  of  conduct,  the  importance  of  which  his  own  experience 
"  has  more  than  ever  impressed  on  him." 

Thus  far  these  sentiments  in  the  abstract  are  gleaned  from 
the  draught  of  Madison,  who  in  part  took  them  from  the 
letter  of  Washington,  and  in  part  originated  them  under  his 
instructions ;  but  they  are  much  more  Madison's  than  they 
are  Washington's  in  point  of  origin ;  and  having  been  adopted 
by  Washington  in  his  draught,  Hamilton  has  followed  them, 
and  except  in  one  point,  hereafter  to  be  noted,  a  point  sug 
gested  by  Washington  in  his  letter  to  Madison,  has  exhausted 
Madison's  draught,  modified  some  of  his  expressions,  and 
placed  them  in  the  abstract  in  an  order  in  some  respects 
Hamilton's  own.  They  are  subsequently  introduced  at  the 
commencement  of  Hamilton's  draught,  in  language  some 
thing  more  easy  and  fluent,  though  equally  plain,  omitting 
one  head  altogether,  the  head  of  rotation  in  office,  and 
changing  one  phrase  of  some  sharpness  responsive  to  Wash 
ington's  sensibility  to  invective,  "  amidst  discouraging  scenes 


100  HAMILTON'S  ABSTRACT  OF  POINTS. 

"  and  efforts  to  poison  its  source,"  into  "  situations  in  which 
"  not  unfrequently  want  of  success  has  seconded  the  criti- 
"  cisms  of  malevolence ;"  and  thus  abating  the  pungency  of 
the  phrase  in  the  abstract. 

The  effort  to  keep  from  the  Address  every  pointed  refe 
rence  to  the  political  party  maltreatment  which  Washington 
thought  he  had  received,  is  conspicuous  on  the  part  of  Ham 
ilton  throughout,  his  noble  design  being  to  make  it  speak  a 
language  that  was  both  generous  and  catholic,  and  which 
would  meet  with  acceptance  at  all  future  time  by  wise  and 
good  men.  ROTATION — Hamilton  leaves  out  altogether  from 
his  draught,  thinking,  no  doubt,  though  Madison  introduced 
it  upon  Washington's  qualified  suggestion,  or  perhaps  un 
qualified,  if  the  original  letter  to  Madison  is  a  truer  reading 
than  that  of  Mr.  Sparks,*  that  mere  rotation,  without  regard 
to  circumstances,  was  unreasonable  and  restrictive  of  the 
Constitution ;  and  that  to  attempt  to  state  the  circumstances, 
would  lead  to  suppositions  and  discriminations  which  would 
not  obtain  general  assent.  In  such  matters  the  subsequent 
surrender  by  Washington  of  personal  feelings  and  personal 
predilection,  shows  both  the  soundness  of  his  judgment  and 
the  nobleness  of  his  spirit.  Even  the  word  "  malevolent"  has 
been  struck  from  the  Address,  either  by  Hamilton  in  his 
corrected  copy,  or  in  his  revision,  or  by  Washington  himself. 

After  these  heads  of  the  abstract,  come  the  great  heads  of 
the  work,  with  the  subdivisions  of  some  of  them ;  and  it  is 
here  that  the  public  principles  of  the  Address  begin  to 
assume  their  order,  and  to  receive  their  analysis. 

The  central  thought  and  sentiment  of  the  piece  is  the 

*  See  p.  19,  supra. 


HAMILTON'S  ABSTRACT  OF  POINTS.  101 

UNION,  which  is  the  eleventh  head ;  and  from  this  all  subse 
quent  thoughts  radiate,  and  it  may  be  said,  with  equal  truth, 
that  they  all  converge  to  it,  illustrate  its  value,  and  tend  to 
corroborate  it.  "  It  is  the  rock  of  their  salvation ;  presenting 
"  summarily  these  ideas:  1.  Strength  and  greater  security 
"  from  external  danger.  2.  Internal  peace,  and  avoiding 
"  the  necessity  of  establishments  dangerous  to  liberty.  3. 
"  Avoids  the  effect  of  foreign  intrigue.  4.  Breaks  the  force  of 
"  factions,  by  rendering  combinations  more  difficult."  The 
great  natural  bond  of  Union, — what  may  almost  be  called 
the  religion  of  its  nature,  is  selected  by  the  abstract  as  the 
first  matter  to  be  developed — "  the  fitness  of  the  parts  for 
"  each  other  by  their  very  discriminations.  1.  The  North, 
"  by  its  capacity  for  maritime  strength  and  manufacture. 
"  2.  The  agricultural  South  furnishing  materials,  and  re- 
"  quiring  those  protections.  The  Atlantic  board  to  the 
"  western  country  by  the  strong  interests  of  peace,  and  the 
"  western  by  the  necessity  of  Atlantic  maritime  protection. 
"  Cannot  be  sure  of  their  great  outlet  otherwise — cannot 
"  trust  a  foreign  connection.  Solid  interests  invite  to  Union. 
"  Speculations  of  difficulty  of  government  ought  not  to  be 
"  indulged,  nor  momentary  jealousies — lead  to  impatience. 
"  Faction  and  individual  ambition  are  the  only  advisers  of 
"  disunion :"  and  then,  noting  for  remembrance  the  jea 
lousies  existing  at  that  time  in  the  West,  in  regard  to  the 
Mississippi  and  its  outlet,  and  the  late  treaty  with  Spain, 
which  tended  to  allay  them,  it  repeats,  "  Let  confidence  be 
"  cherished ;  let  the  recent  experience  of  the  West  be  a 
"  lesson  against  impatience  and  distrust." 

The  twelfth  is  the  "  actual  government,"  the  government 
which  the  Constitution  provides  for  the  Union.     "  Cherish 


HAMILTON'S  ABSTIIACT  or  POINTS. 

"  the  actual  government.  It  is  the  government  of  our  own 
"  choice — free  in  its  principles,  the  guardian  of  our  common 
"  rights,  the  patron  of  our  common  interests,  and  containing 
"  within  itself  a  provision  for  its  own  amendment.  But  let 
"  that  provision  be  cautiously  used — not  abused ;  changing 
"  only,  in  any  material  points,  as  experience  shall  direct ; 
"  neither  indulging  speculations  of  too  much  or  too  little 
"  force  in  the  system,  and  remembering  always  the  extent  of 
"  our  country.  Time  and  habit  of  great  consequence  to  every 
"  government,  of  whatever  structure.  Discourage  the  spirit 
"  of  faction,  the  bane  of  free  government ;  and  particularly 
"  avoid  founding  it  on  geographical  discriminations.  Discoun- 
"  tenance  slander  of  public  men.  Let  the  departments  of 
"  government  avoid  interfering  and  mutual  encroachments." 

These  being  the  guiding  notes  for  a  comprehensive  state 
ment  of  the  particular  advantages  of  the  government  which 
the  Constitution  had  provided,  of  the  means  of  amending 
cautiously  its  defects,  when  ascertained,  and  of  the  dangers 
which  might  threaten  it,  founded  on  geographical  discri 
minations,  or  promoted  by  encroachments  of  the  depart 
ments  on  each  other,  the  abstract  proceeds  with  heads,  to 
introduce  such  admonitions  as  concern  the  people  in  their 
personal  relations,  private  and  public :  "  Thirteenth.  Morals, 
"  religion,  industry,  commerce,  economy — Cherish  public 
"  credit — Source  of  strength  and  security — Adherence  to 
"  systematic  views." 

"  Also  their  relations  to  foreign  nations :  Fourteenth. 
"  Cherish  good  faith,  justice,  and  peace  with  other  nations. 
"  1.  Because  religion  and  morality  dictate  it.  2.  Because 
"  policy  dictates  it.  If  there  could  exist  a  nation  inva- 
"  riably  honest  and  faithful,  the  benefits  would  be  immense. 


HAMILTON'S  ABSTRACT  OF  POINTS.  103 

"  But  avoid  national  antipathies  or  national  attachments :" 
and  then  follows,  in  emphatic  italics.  "  Display  the  evils  : 
"  fertile  source  of  wars,  instrument  of  ambitious  rulers." 

As  distinct  heads,  then  follow  four  others,  which  branch 
out  naturally  from  the  preceding:  "Fifteenth.  Eepublics 
"peculiarly  exposed  to  foreign  intrigue;  those  sentiments 
"lay  them  open  to  it.  Sixteenth.  The  great  rule  of  our 
"  foreign  policy  ought  to  be  to  have  as  little  political  con- 
"  nection  as  possible  with  foreign  nations  ;  cultivating  com- 
"  merce  with  all  by  general  and  natural  means,  diffusing  and 
"  diversifying  it,  but  forcing  nothing ;  and  cherish  the  senti- 
"  ment  of  independence,  taking  pride  in  the  appellation  of 
"American;"  and  against  this  last  note  the  margin  adds, 
"  establishing  temporary  and  convenient  rules,  that  com- 
"  merce  may  be  placed  on  a  stable  footing ;  merchants  know 
"  their  commerce ;  how  to  support  them,  not  seeking  favors" 
"  Seventeenth.  Our  separation  from  Europe  renders  standing 
"  alliances  inexpedient,  subjecting  our  peace  and  interest  to 
"  the  primary  and  complicated  relations  of  European  inte- 
"  rests.  Keeping  constantly  in  view  to  place  ourselves  upon 
"  a  respectable  defensive,  and,  if  forced  into  controversy, 
"  trusting  to  connections  of  the  occasion.  Eighteenth.  Our 
"  attitude  imposing,  and  rendering  this  policy  safe.  But 
"  this  must  be  with  the  exception  of  existing  engagements, 
"  to  be  preserved,  but  not  extended." 

The  remaining  heads  of  division  may  be  noticed  summa 
rily.  The  nineteenth  is  a  hint  to  remark,  that  it  is  not  ex 
pected  that  these  admonitions  can  control  the  course  of 
human  passions;  but  if  it  moderates  them  in  some  in 
stances,  Washington's  endeavor  is  rewarded.  The  twentieth, 
that  the  public  records  must  witness  how  far  his  administra- 


104  HAMILTON'S  ABSTRACT  OF  POINTS. 

tion  has  conformed  to  these  principles.  His  conscience 
assures  him  that  he  believed  himself  to  be  guided  by  them. 
Twenty-first.  "Particularly  in  relation  to  the  present  war, 
"  the  proclamation  of  22d  April,  1793,  is  the  key  to  my 
"  plan.  Approved  by  your  voice,  and  that  of  your  represen- 
"  tatives  in  Congress,  the  spirit  of  that  measure  has  con- 
"  tinually  guided  me,  uninfluenced  by,  and  regardless  of,  the 
"  complaints  and  attempts  of  any  of  the  powers  at  war,  or 
"  their  partisans,  to  change  them."  "  I  thought  our  country 
"  had  a  right,  under  all  the  circumstances,  to  take  this 
"  ground,  and  I  was  resolved,  as  far  as  it  depended  on  me, 
"  to  maintain  it  firmly."  There  is  a  memorandum  in  the 
margin  of  the  second  clause  of  this  division,  to  "  touch  sen- 
"  timents  with  regard  to  conduct  of  belligerent  powers.  A 
"  wish  that  France  may  establish  good  government."  Against 
the  last  clause  of  it  are  these  words :  "  Time  everything." 
The  twenty-second  is  a  clause  which  is  introduced  into  the 
original  draught  of  Hamilton,  in  substantially  the  same 
words,  and  almost  verbatim  from  that  draught  into  the 
Farewell  Address  of  Washington,  of  which  it  is  the  penul 
timate  clause.  It  frankly  declares,  that  however,  in  review 
ing  the  course  of  his  administration,  he  may  be  unconscious 
of  intentional  error,  he  is  too  sensible  of  his  own  deficiencies 
not  to  believe  that  he  may  have  fallen  into  many — depre 
cates  the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend,  and  prays  Heaven 
to  avert,  or  mitigate  or  abridge  them ; — that  he  carries  with 
him,  nevertheless,  the  hope  that  his  motives  will  continue 
to  be  viewed  with  indulgence ;  that  after  forty-five  years  of 
his  life  devoted  to  public  service,  with  a  good  zeal  and 
upright  views,  the  faults  of  deficient  abilities  will  be  con 
signed  to  oblivion,  as  himself  must  soon  be  to  the  mansions 


HAMILTON'S  ABSTRACT  OF  POINTS.  105 

of  rest. — We  cannot  help  envying  the  noble  emotion  with 
which  Hamilton  repeated  this  clause,  which  was  Washing 
ton's  own  thought,  out  of  the  full  consciousness  of  what  was 
stirring  in  Washington's  great  heart ! 

The  twenty-third,  and  last  clause  of  the  abstract,  is  sub 
stantially  the  same  with  the  corresponding  clause  in  the 
draught,  but  is  completely  altered  in  the  concluding  clause 
of  the  Farewell  Address.  Both  the  clause  in  the  abstract, 
and  the  clause  in  the  draught,  are  taken  from  the  conclusion 
to  Washington's  original  or  preparatory  draught.  The 
alteration  in  the  Farewell  Address  is  by  Washington. 

It  is  a  declaration  that  neither  interest  nor  ambition  had 
been  Washington's  impelling  motive — that  he  had  never 
abused  the  power  confided  to  him — that  he  had  not  bettered 
his  fortune,  retiring  with  it  no  otherwise  improved,  than  by 
the  influence  on  property  of  the  common  blessings  of  his 
country.  "  I  retire,"  it  says,  "  with  undefiled  hands  and  an 
"  uncorrupt  heart,  and  with  ardent  vows  for  the  welfare  of 
"  that  country  which  has  been  the  native  soil  of  my  ancestors 
"  for  four  generations."  The  sentiments  were  all  just,  and 
were  all  suggested,  in  nearly  the  same  words,  by  Washington, 
in  the  concluding  section  of  Washington's  own  draught  to 
which  I  have  referred ;  and  therefore  his  friend  and  minister 
would  be  naturally  desirous  that  he  should  close  his  valedic 
tion  with  the  expression  of  them ;  but  they  bordered  upon 
what  the  world  might  mistake  for  vain-gloriousness,  in  re 
gard  to  his  motives,  his  purity,  his  fortune,  and  his  family ; 
and  we  may  take  pleasure  in  supposing,  that  this  final  clause 
Washington  himself  preferred  to  put  aside,  as  he  did,  except 
ing  only  the  reference  to  his  American  ancestors,  the  bond  of 
his  affection  for  his  country,  the  view  of  whose  coming 


106  RESULT  OF  THE  ABSTRACT. 

happiness  and  greatness,  seemed  to  gild  the  last  words  of 
his  Farewell. 

After  having  thus  placed  before  the  reader  this  clear  and 
orderly  abstract,  with  but  little  more  elucidation  than  a  copy 
of  it  would  give  to  every  one  in  reading  it,  we  feel  some  con 
fidence  in  remarking,  that  it  would  be  written  as  a  syllabus 
of  Hamilton's  original  draught,  without  recurring  to  Ham 
ilton's  abstract.  The  syllabus  might  be  considerably  fuller 
in  some  parts,  and  less  full  in  others.  It  might  omit,  in  one 
or  two  places,  what  the  abstract  notices,  and  it  might  notice 
in  more  what  the  abstract  does  not  contain.  But  they  would 
substantially  concur ;  and  no  person  of  intelligence,  who 
peruses  the  draught  with  the  abstract  before  him,  can  fail 
to  perceive  that  the  draught  is  the  regular  and  orderly  ex 
pansion  of  the  abstract,  and  a  symmetrical  structure,  of 
which  the  abstract  is  the  frame, — in  some  parts  the  full 
frame,  in  other  parts  the  more  open  frame.  This  structure 
and  frame,  then,  are  Hamilton's  incontestably. 

The  first  portions  of  the  frame,  where  it  is  fullest,  were 
taken  in  separate  parts  from  portions  of  Washington's  pre 
paratory  draught,  as  Mr.  Madison  had  sketched  it,  and  also 
as  Washington  had  completed  it ;  but  by  Hamilton  they  are 
placed  in  a  new  order.  They  are  what  may  be  called  the 
personal  parts  of  that  draught,  having  reference  to  his  own 
relations  with  the  government,  his  previous  wish  to  retire, 
his  present  intention  to  do  so,  and  his  motives  and  feelings 
in  regard  to  the  retirement.  In  these  particulars  the  lan 
guage  of  Washington's  draught  is  adopted  as  far  as  it  could 
be.  The  structure  is  built  upon,  and  with,  and  around 
Washington's  principles  and  sentiments  as  they  appear 
throughout  his  draught,  but  upon  a  plan  altogether  new, 


ANALYSIS    OF    HAMILTON'S    DRAUGHT.  107 

none  of  the  elements  provided  by  Washington  being  omitted, 
except  such  as  had  too  pointed  a  reference  to  partisan  oppo 
sition,  and  the  whole  being  enlarged  and  combined  together 
by  the  collateral  thoughts  and  illustrations  of  Hamilton  upon 
his  new  plan ;  and  this  entire  plan  goes  into  the  Farewell 
Address,  some  portion  of  the  filling  up  by  Hamilton's  ori 
ginal  draught  being  omitted,  most  probably  by  Hamilton  in 
his  amended  copy  or  in  his  revision,  and  other  portions  struck 
out  by  Washington  from  his  final  copy,  though  Hamilton 
had  introduced  several  of  them  from  express  passages  in 
Washington's  preparatory  draught.  Adopting  a  mechanical 
measure  of  contribution  by  the  preparatory  draught  of  Wash 
ington,  when  compared  with  the  original  matter  by  Hamil 
ton,  as  he  extended  it  in  his  draught,  Washington's  part  was 
not  in  quantity  a  moiety  of  the  whole.  But  such  a  measure 
of  those  contributions,  is  obviously  unsatisfactory  and  defec 
tive.  We  may  get  a  better  notion  of  them  by  an  analysis 
of  Hamilton's  original  draught,  which  will  be  in  fact  an 
analysis  of  Washington's  Farewell  Address.  I  may  say, 
however,  that  the  principal  original  contribution  by  Mr. 
Madison,  is  that  which  repeats  the  vows  that  Washington 
would  carry  into  his  retirement  and  his  grave,  and  is  the 
ninth  head  of  Hamilton's  abstract.  All  else  is  substantially, 
and  by  original  suggestion,  Washington's  or  Hamilton's. 

In  his  original  draught,  Hamilton  made  the  unity  of 
Government,  or  THE  UNION,  the  central  and  radiating  thought, 
and  the  focus  to  which  all  important  reflections  from  any 
quarter  of  the  work,  except  the  personal  introduction, 
tended.  Washington  had  breathed  a  warm  wish  of  his  heart 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  Union,  in  that  paragraph  of  the 
Hints  or  Heads  of  Topics,  which  I  have  already  transcribed, — 


108  ANALYSIS    OF   HAMILTON'S   DRAUGHT. 

"  that  it,"  our  Union,  "  may  be  as  lasting  as  time ;"  and  many 
of  his  sentiments  have  an  obvious  influence  upon  the  prospe 
rity  and  continuance  of  the  Union  ;  but  he  does  not  expressly 
connect  them  with  that  object,  nor  make  it  the  point  to 
which  they  converge. 

In  Hamilton's  original  draught,  after  the  personal  intro 
duction,  the  great  subject  is  opened  at  once.  Of  the  love  of 
liberty,  which  is  first  noticed,  no  recommendation  was  neces 
sary  to  fortify  the  attachment  of  the  people  to  it.  Two  lines 
only  are  given  to  that  subject.  But  after  these  lines  which 
enter  upon  the  topics  of  advice  and  admonition,  as  soon  as 
the  introduction  had  closed,  all  that  follows  the  expression, 
UNITY  OF  GOVERNMENT,  is  exhibited  and  comprehended  as 
inducements  of  sympathy,  or  motives  of  interest,  in  the 
people,  to  maintain  the  Union. 

Hamilton  calls  it  the  main  pillar  of  their  independence,  of 
their  peace,  their  safety,  freedom,  and  happiness.  In  his 
abstract  he  had  called  it  THE  ROCK  OF  THEIR  SALVATION  ;  but, 
with  great  propriety,  as  Washington  was  to  speak,  he  left 
that  phrase  to  its  more  solemn  appropriation,  and  substituted 
in  his  draught  "  the  MAIN  PILLAR  OF  THEIR  INDEPENDENCE." 

He  first  speaks  of  it  as  the  point  in  their  political  fortress 
against  which  the  batteries  of  internal  and  external  enemies 
would  be  most  constantly  and  actively,  however  covertly  and 
insidiously,  levelled ;  and  therefore  it  was  of  the  utmost  im 
portance  that  they  should  appreciate  in  its  full  force  the 
immense  value  of  their  political  union  to  their  national  and 
individual  happiness,  that  they  should  cherish  towards  it  an 
affectionate  and  immovable  attachment,  and  should  watch  for 
its  preservation  with  zealous  solicitude. 

For  this,  he  says,  you  have  every  motive  of  sympathy  and 


ANALYSIS    OF   HAMILTON'S    DRAUGHT.  109 

interest ;  and  following  Washington's  thoughts,  and  in  some 
degree  his  language,  appeals  to  the  people  as  "  children  for 
"  the  most  part  of  a  common  country,"  and  declares  that 
that  country  claims,  and  ought  to  concentrate  their  affec 
tions  ;  that  the  name  of  American  must  always  gratify  and 
exalt  the  just  pride  of  patriotism  more  than  any  denomina 
tion  which  can  be  derived  from  local  considerations.  "  You 
"  have,  with  slight  shades  of  difference,  the  same  religion, 
"  manners,  habits,  and  political  institutions  and  principles  ; 
"  you  have^  in  a  common  cause,  fought  and  triumphed  toge- 
"  ther.  The  independence  and  liberty  you  enjoy  are  the 
"  work  of  joint  councils,  efforts,  dangers,  sufferings,  and  suc- 
"  cesses.  By  your  union  you  achieved  them,  by  your  union 
"  you  will  most  effectually  maintain  them." 

After  adverting  to  the  considerations  which  addressed 
themselves  to  the  sympathy  or  sensibility  of  the  people  to 
maintain  the  Union,  he  proceeds  to  show  that  they  were 
greatly  strengthened  or  outweighed  by  those  which  applied 
to  their  interest ;  and  that  here  every  portion  of  our  country 
would  find  the  most  urgent  and  commanding  motives  for 
guarding  and  preserving  the  union  of  the  whole. 

It  is  then  that  he  introduces  that  pregnant  paragraph,  both 
succinct  and  comprehensive,  which  unfolds  the  relations, 
capacities,  and  dependencies  of  the  North,  the  South,  the 
East,  and  the  West,  their  strength  in  combination,  their  pro 
portional  security  from  external  danger,  less  frequent  inter 
ruption  of  peace  with  foreign  nations,  and  exemption  from 
broils  and  wars  between  the  parts,  if  disunited,  which  their 
rivalships,  fomented  by  foreign  intrigue  and  opposite  alliance 
with  foreign  nations,  would  produce.  The  germinal  thought^ 
is  Washington's,  the  germination  is  Hamilton's.  ** 


110  ANALYSIS    OF    HAMILTON'S    DRAUGHT. 

The  advantages  of  union  being  regarded  as  so  conclusive 
in  this  aspect,  he  proceeds  to  show  that  the  spirit  of  party, 
the  intrigue  of  foreign  nations,  and  the  corruption  and  ambi 
tion  of  individuals,  are  likely  to  prove  more  formidable  adver 
saries  to  the  unity  of  our  empire,  than  any  inherent  difficulties 
in  the  scheme ;  and  that  it  was  against  these  that  the  guards 
of  national  opinion,  national  sympathy,  national  prudence,  and 
virtue,  were  to  be  erected. 

Then  begins  the  reference  to  party  differences  of  opinion, 
to  menaces  of  dissolution  from  one  part  to  another,  on  account 
of  this  or  that  measure,  tending  to  make  men  consider  the 
Union  as  precarious,  and  to  weaken  the  sentiment  in  its 
favor ;  with  an  emphatic  rebuke  of  parties  characterized  by 
geographical  discriminations — Northern  and  Southern  States 
— Atlantic  and  Western  country — producing  groundless 
jealousies,  which  make  men  aliens  to  their  brethren,  and 
connect  them  with  aliens ;  and  sustaining  the  rebuke  by  a 
reference  to  the  care  of  the  Administration  in  negotiating 
treaties  with  Spain  for  the  special  benefit  of  the  West,  and 
to  confirm  their  prosperity. 

This  jealousy  between  sections,  necessitates  the  Union  and 
one  government,  for  which  no  alliance  between  the  parts  can 
be  a  substitute ;  and  here  the  draught  appropriately  refers 
to  the  Constitution,  the  offspring  of  the  people's  choice,  and 
amendable  by  them  in  case  of  need,  but,  until  changed, 
sacredly  binding  upon  all,  and  the  government  under  it,  the 
offspring  of  like  choice,  entitled  to  respect  for  its  authority, 
compliance  with  its  laws,  and  acquiescence  in  its  measures, 
as  well  by  the  fundamental  maxims  of  true  liberty,  as  by 
the  principle  that  the  right  to  establish  government  presup 
poses  the  duty  of  every  individual  to  obey  the  established 


ANALYSIS    OF   HAMILTON'S    DRAUGHT.  HI 

government.  All  obstructions  to  laws,  all  combinations  and 
associations  to  counteract  the  regular  action  of  the  established 
authorities,  are  therefore  contrary  to  the  fundamental  prin 
ciple,  and  of  the  most  fatal  tendency ;  and  in  like  manner, 
a  spirit  of  innovation  upon  the  principles  of  the  Constitu 
tion,  by  effecting  alterations  in  its  forms,  which  tend  to 
impair  the  energy  of  the  system.  Time  and  habit  are  as 
necessary  to  fix  the  true  habits  of  governments,  as  of  any 
other  human  institutions.  Experience,  and  not  hypothesis 
and  opinion,  is  the  surest  standard  by  which  the  tendency  of 
existing  constitutions  of  government  can  be  tried. 

The  draught,  after  thus  noticing  the  Constitution  and  one 
government  as  indispensable  to  the  duration  of  the  Union, 
and  that  no  alliances  between  parts  would  be  a  substitute, 
recurs  to  the  subject  of  party  spirit,  and  solemnly  cautions 
the  people  against  its  baneful  effects.  The  view  before 
taken  is  enlarged,  so  as  to  comprehend  the  general  aspect 
of  this  feeling,  its  shapes,  its  growth,  the  domination  of  one 
faction  over  another,  the  spirit  of  revenge  it  excites,  and  the 
formal  and  permanent  despotism  in  which  at  length  it  ends. 
Disorders  and  miseries  resulting  from  this,  predispose  men 
to  seek  repose  in  the  power  of  a  single  man ;  and  the  leader 
of  a  prevailing  faction  turns  the  disposition  to  the  purposes 
of  his  ambitious  self-aggrandizement. 

Further  consequences  result  from  it :  it  distracts  the  coun 
sels  and  enfeebles  the  administration  of  government — opens 
inlets  for  foreign  corruption  and  influence,  which  find  an 
easy  access  through  the  channel  of  party  passions.  The 
notion  that  parties  in  free  countries  are  a  salutary  check 
upon  the  administration  of  government,  and  tend  to  invigo 
rate  the  spirit  of  liberty,  is,  within  certain  limits,  true.  In 


112  ANALYSIS    OF   HAMILTON'S   DRAUGHT. 

monarchical  governments,  patriotism  may  look  upon  it  with 
favor ;  in  those  of  a  popular  kind  and  purely  elective,  it  is 
not  to  be  fostered. 

The  draught  then  proceeds  to  the  guards  of  national 
opinion, — in  habits  of  thinking  among  the  people,  to  pro 
duce  caution  in  the  several  departments,  that  they  may  avoid 
encroachments  upon  one  another,  and  change,  by  usurpation ; 
of  national  sympathy,  virtue,  and  prudence,  by  recommenda 
tions  of  religion  and  morality,  industry  and  frugality ;  to  the 
nurture  of  public  credit,  as  a  means  of  security  and  strength ; 
to  good  faith  and  justice,  as  leading  to  peace  and  harmony 
with  all  nations.  The  last  topic  is  particularly  developed  in 
its  bearing  upon  the  influence  of  foreign  nations, — the  na 
tional  attachments  and  antipathies  it  avoids ;  the  immense 
dangers  of  both;  the  partialities  which  the  neglect  of  it 
produces,  denying  privileges  to  one  and  conceding  them  to 
another — exciting  jealousy  and  ill-will,  and  giving  to  ambi 
tious  and  corrupted  citizens,  facility  in  betraying  or  sacri 
ficing  their  own  country. 

Perhaps  the  finest  lessons  in  the  draught  of  the  Address 
are  taught  in  this  part  of  it,  which  unfolds  the  topic  of 
foreign  influence,  its  mischiefs  and  impolicy,  and  the  dissua- 
sives  from  it  which  are  supplied  by  the  true  interests  of  a 
united  nation.  It  was  a  pressing  evil  in  the  day  of  the 
Farewell  Address.  It  carried  our  country  to  the  very  edge 
of  the  precipice,  from  which  we  might  have  fallen  to  dis 
memberment  and  ruin,  by  coalition  with  France,  and  her 
wars  of  ambition  against  the  world.  If  the  Farewell  Ad 
dress  saved  us  from  this,  though  it  saved  us  from  nothing 
else,  it  would  deserve  to  be  regarded  as  a  blessing  from 
Heaven  through  the  counsels  of  Washington,  not  less  in 


ANALYSIS    OF   HAMILTON'S    DKAUGHT.  113 

magnitude  than  the  blessing  of  Independence,  which  was 
vouchsafed  to  his  sword. 

It  is  with  this  topic  that  the  draught  finishes  the  central 
subject  and  argument.  The  remainder  of  it  is  occupied 
with  a  reference  to  the  proclamation  of  neutrality,  and  the 
then  existing  war,  the  only  occasional  topics  of  the  Address ; 
and  it  concludes  with  a  modest  peroration,  corresponding 
with  the  abstract,  and  breathing  the  full  heart  of  the 
Father  of  his  Country,  to  his  native  land  and  the  people 
he  had  always  loved,  and  had  served  for  three-quarters  of 
his  life. 

This  analysis  of  the  original  draught  has  been  made  with 
two  objects  in  view.  The  first  has  been  to  demonstrate  the 
connection  between  the  draught  and  the  abstract,  and  that 
the  draught  was  the  appropriate  clothing  of  the  abstract, 
fitting  it  as  the  muscles  of  the  human  body  do  their  proper 
bones,  and  having  such  development  and  expansion  only  as 
were  necessary  to  give  it  fit  expression  and  energetic  action. 
"Where  Hamilton  had  the  clue  to  Washington's  language  as 
well  as  thoughts,  he  followed  it  faithfully,  as  faithfully  in 
the  abstract  as  in  the  draught ;  where  he  had  the  guidance 
of  Washington's  thoughts  or  suggestions  alone,  he  notes  the 
subject  more  briefly  in  the  abstract,  intending  to  give  the 
rein  more  liberally  to  his  own  thoughts  and  language  in 
the  development  of  the  draught.  We  get  the  pith  of  the 
address  in  the  abstract ;  and  when  we  go  to  the  draught, 
we  find  it  all  plainly  and  most  perspicuously  drawn  out,  so 
as  to  be  intelligible  to  every  capacity,  that  it  might  be  un 
derstood  by  "  the  yeomanry,"  and  at  the  same  time  so 
becomingly,  as  to  "  meet  the  eye  of  discerning  readers,  par- 
"  ticularly  foreigners,"  yet  not  containing,  perhaps,  a  single 


114  THE    CHARACTER    OF   HAMILTON'S    DRAUGHT. 

metaphor  or  figure  of  speech,  which  is  not  a  perfectly  fami 
liar  one,  that  it  might  not  be  accused  of  artifice  or  insince 
rity.  It  is  perfectly  accurate,  in  the  best  style  of  an  elevated 
state  paper,  its  general  propositions  everywhere  so  qualified, 
in  a  natural  and  easy  manner,  as  to  make  them  irrefutable, 
and  without  a  sentence  that  is  dogmatical,  or  is  averred  upon 
personal  authority, — every  proposition  being  sustained  by 
both  reason  and  persuasion,  the  conscience  of  the  writer 
going  on  step  by  step  to  the  end,  in  union  with  his  intellect. 
If  Hamilton  had  not  deeply  loved  and  respected  Wash 
ington,  he  could  not  have  so  clothed  his  abstract  with  his 
draught.  But  this  is  not  all  the  merit  or  the  claim. 

If  this  is  not  authorship,  in  some  sense,  I  know  not  what 
authorship  is,  and  it  covers  the  entire  paper,  Washington's 
thoughts,  and  Madison's  thoughts,  and  all.  It  seems,  indeed, 
to  be  rather  a  case  of  complex  and  skilful  authorship  in 
Hamilton,  as  we  think  it  must  be  conceded  to  be  by  every 
man  who  has  tried  his  pen  in  composition,  to  make  a  regular 
work  from  irregular  or  unconnected  materials,  to  expand 
them  into  new  forms,  and  to  give  them  bearing  throughout 
upon  one  great  and  cardinal  point,  the  union  of  the  people : 
the  only  object  for  which  it  was  worth  Washington's  while 
to  give  his  counsels  to  the  country,  all  else  in  the  Address 
being  ceremony  and  valediction.  It  may  not  have  been  so 
difficult  for  Hamilton  to  do  this,  as  it  might  have  been  for 
others  ;  for  Washington's  materials  were  not  irregular  to  the 
eye  or  the  mind  of  Hamilton.  They  were  all  incorporated 
in  his  own  mind  in  their  just  order  and  bearing ;  and  his 
work  was  to  exhibit  their  order,  rather  than  to  form  it.  But 
it  is  his  great  praise  that  he  did  it  with  simplicity,  fidelity, 
and  affection ;  and  it  will  be  no  deduction  from  the  praise  of 


LITERARY    CHARACTER    OF    FAREWELL   ADDRESS.  115 

Washington,  if  the  mernory  of  Hamilton  shall  live  forever  in 
the  work. 

But  we  have  had  in  view  another  object.  In  the  progress 
of  this  question  about  the  authorship  of  the  Farewell  Ad 
dress,  it  has  been  thought  useful  by  Mr.  Sparks  to  suggest, 
that  as  a  mere  literary  performance,  though  able  and  excel 
lent,  it  is  neither  extraordinary,  nor  such  as  if  disconnected 
from  the  name  of  Washington,  would  have  excited  much 
curiosity  about  the  author,  nor  in  any  degree  superior  to 
many  other  papers  known  to  be  written  by  each  of  the  per 
sons  named. 

There  would  be  some  difficulty,  perhaps,  in  proving  the 
postulate  that  is  implied  in  this  last  comparison.  No  wri 
tings  so  known  have  been  vouched  to  its  aid.  From  the 
positive  part  of  the  averment,  I  hope  it  is  not  presumption 
to  express  my  dissent.  If  state  papers,  or  great  public 
papers  like  this,  are  to  be  classed  among  works  of  literature 
at  all,  and  doubtless  they  sometimes  may  be,  they  must  be 
subject  to  those  laws  of  taste  which  particularly  respect  the 
end  or  object  to  be  attained,  in  connection  with  a  rather 
didactic  manner  of  attaining  it.  There  is  necessarily  some 
compression  in  this  method  ;  and  making  due  allowance  for 
this,  or  rather  looking  at  the  whole  work  of  the  Farewell  Ad 
dress  in  this  direction,  the  general  judgment  of  men  has,  in 
this  dissent,  probably  concurred.  Its  simplicity,  its  purity,  its 
grouping,  its  light  and  shade,  the  elevation  of  its  tone,  and 
its  perfect  transparency  of  meaning,  make  it  a  work  of  ex 
traordinary  literary  merit  in  the  order  or  class  to  which  it 
belongs.  We  are  not  to  compare  it  with  papers,  where  the 
fields  of  imagination  and  of  illustrative  fact  have  been  wide 
open  to  the  writer,  and  embellishments  from  every  quarter, 


116  LITERARY   CHARACTER    OF   FAREWELL   ADDRESS. 

moral  and  classical,  have  been  within  his  reach.  The  path 
of  the  Farewell  Address  was  almost  severely  straight,  and 
the  deviations  by  Hamilton  to  give  it  flexure,  without  too 
wide  a  departure,  have  been  managed  with  great  skill.  Per 
haps  this  impression  of  the  paper  is  partly  the  effect  of  early 
association,  having  read  it  as  a  college  senior  with  infinite 
delight,  within  a  week  probably  after  its  first  publication ; 
and  perhaps  also  it  is  as  much  a  moral  as  a  literary  judg 
ment,  for  it  is  a  paper  of  infinite  discretion,  as  well  as  of 
great  political  wisdom,  which  I  admit  it  owes  as  much  to 
Washington  as  to  Hamilton,  though  perhaps  as  to  perfect 
discretion,  not  primarily.  But  regarding  it  only  as  a  work 
of  composition,  the  general  opinion  both  of  educated  men 
and  of  statesmen  seems  to  be,  that  it  is  not  only  very  able, 
but  that  in  the  category  of  state  papers  it  ought  to  be 
regarded  as  classical.  Such  a  paper  would  have  caused  a 
most  reasonable  curiosity  to  know  the  author,  if  it  had  been 
written  suppositiously,  and  would  have  made  the  fortune  of 
the  writer  if  he  had  been  discovered. 

But  the  paper  is  not  seen  in  its  greatest  magnitude,  when 
regarded  merely  as  a  literary  performance.  It  rises  to  an 
elevation  higher  than  most  kinds  of  literature,  in  command 
ing  a  view  of  the  relations  of  all  the  parts  of  this  country  to 
each  other,  and  of  the  whole  to  foreign  nations,  and  in 
carrying  the  eye  to  the  distant  future,  as  the  witness  and 
proof  of  its  counsels  and  admonitions.  In  this  aspect,  it  is 
both  a  platform  and  a  prophecy,  a  rule  for  administration, 
and  a  warning  to  the  whole  country ;  and  it  owes  this  exten 
sively  to  Hamilton,  though  primarily  and  fundamentally  to 
Washington.  Its  large  and  pointed  references  to  the  spirit  of 
party,  and  especially  in  the  sectional  or  State  relation,  seem 


ITS   POLITICAL    OR   ADMINISTRATIVE    CHARACTER.  117 

to  have  been  written  with  a  special  apprehension  of  what  is 
now  unfolding  before  us,  though  it  must  be  admitted  that 
there  is  one  present  and  most  dangerous  aspect  of  that  spirit, 
which  the  universal  love  of  freedom  then  prevalent  in  the 
country,  kept  back  from  the  contemplation  of  either  Wash 
ington  or  Hamilton,  as  it  did  from  that  of  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States  generally,  until  many  years  afterwards. 

There  is  one  point  of  great  political  concernment  which, 
at  least  in  appearance,  is  passed  over  by  both  Washington 
and  Hamilton, — the  point  of  that  drying  and  wilting  inter 
pretation  of  the  Constitution,  which  has  assumed  the  name 
of  STATE  RIGHTS, — that  portion  of  the  doctrine,  I  mean, 
which  requires  express  words  in  the  Constitution,  or  neces 
sary  implication,  to  carry  power  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States — the  same  jealous  disposition  in .  those  who 
favor  that  rule  of  construction,  which  kept  us  out  of  a  Federal 
Constitution  for  five  years  after  the  public  enemy  had  left 
us  free  to  make  one  ;*  and  seems  to  be  exhausting  by 
desiccation,  legislative  and  judicial,  the  best  blood  the  Consti 
tution  possesses,  and  which,  as  the  Constitution  of  a  Public 
State  and  United  Nation,  it  ought  to  possess,  for  the  nourish 
ment  of  its  powers  of  internal  government, — a  doctrine  by 
which  no  one  of  the  States  has  gained  anything,  nor  can 
gain  anything  that  will  not  be  counterpoised  by  the  gain  of 


*  For  a  clear  and  very  interesting  account  of  the  struggle  between  State  Rights  and 
a  comprehensive  and  effective  Union,  I  refer  to  "  The  History  of  the  Republic  of  the 
"  United  States  of  America,  as  traced  in  the  writings  of  Alexander  Hamilton  and  his 
"  Cotemporaries,  by  John  C.  Hamilton," — a  noble  and  fearless  tribute  of  filial  reverence, 
in  the  form  of  authentic  history,  to  a  most  able,  frank,  honest,  and  honorable  man,  and 
one  of  the  great  men  of  his  AGE,  and  of  the  WORLD. 


118  ALLUSION   TO    FEEBLENESS    OF    CONSTITUTION. 

other  States,  and  by  which  the  true  Federal  strength  of  all 
the  States  is,  and  ever  must  be,  seriously  impaired. 

The  Farewell  Address  does  not  notice  the  point  explicitly ; 
but  it  is  there  nevertheless.  It  must  be  recollected  that  this 
kind  of  interpretation  was  the  occasion  of  sharp  controversy 
in  Washington's  first  cabinet,  and  that  the  views  of  Hamil 
ton  in  regard  to  it,  in  opposition  to  Jefferson  and  the  At 
torney-General,  Randolph,  obtained  Washington's  sanction, 
after  long  and  deliberate  consideration ;  and  as  Washington 
was  aware  that  Hamilton  had  been  represented  as  being 
desirous  in  the  Convention  to  bring  on  a  consolidation  of 
the  States,  though  with  no  justice  whatever,  and  most  cer 
tainly  with  less  justice  than  Madison  might  have  been,  he 
probably  deemed  it  best  to  take  no  explicit  notice  of  the 
point  in  his  Farewell  Address,  and  Hamilton,  as  his  repre 
sentative,  only  glanced  at  it,  by  referring  to  the  debility  of 
the  Government,  of  which  he  probably  regarded  this  jealous 
interpretation  as  one  of  the  principal  promoters.  Yet  there 
is  one  clause  in  the  Address  which  we  may  infer  from  strong 
evidence  was  introduced  by  Washington  himself,  that  may 
have  been  intended  to  cover  this  ground,  and  was  substi 
tuted  by  him  for  a  clause  in  Hamilton's  original  draught,  a 
little  altered  in  Hamilton's  revision.  The  three  clauses  will 
be  cited  presently. 

Having  now  exhibited  the  direct  proofs  which  bear  upon 
the  formation  of  the  Farewell  Address,  I  proceed  to  notice  a 
great  and  perhaps  conclusive  indirect  proof,  which  by  a 
remarkable  oversight,  has  been  for  some  years  thought  by 
many  persons  to  show,  that  the  labor  of  bringing  this  great 
paper  into  the  world,  was  the  travail  of  Washington  alone, 
who  has  proved  his  own  composition  of  it  by  manifold  marks 


WASHINGTON'S  AUTOGRAPH  COPY.  119 

in  the  autograph  copy,  which  was  handed  to  the  printer,  by 
whom  it  was  published  in  September,  1796.  It  is  a  copy  of 
this  document,  with  its  erasures  or  cancellations  restored  and 
placed  at  foot,  first  printed  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Lenox, 
the  proprietor,  for  private  distribution,  and  recently  pub 
lished  in  the  Appendix  to  the  fifth  volume  of  Mr.  Irving's 
Life  of  Washington,  which  enables  me  to  bring  together  in 
this  place  a  notice  of  the  alterations  on  the  face  of  the  auto 
graph  copy,  and  of  some  of  the  opinions  which  have  been 
expressed  upon  the  question  of  authorship,  in  the  belief  that 
they  are  corroborated  by  those  alterations. 

Mr.  Sparks's  remark  in  view  of  these  alterations,  is,  I 
submit,  a  misapprehension.  After  making  a  general  state 
ment  of  facts  in  regard  to  the  preparation  of  the  Address  by 
Washington,  and  to  Hamilton's  agency  in  correcting  and 
improving  it,  a  statement  which  he  believed  to  include  all 
that  was  known  with  certainty  upon  the  subject,  Mr.  Sparks 
proceeds  to  say:  "It  proves  that  an  original  draught  was 
"  sent  by  Washington  to  Hamilton ;  that  the  latter  bestowed 
"  great  pains  in  correcting  and  improving  it ;  that  during 
"  this  process  several  communications  passed  between  them ; 
"  and  that  the  final  draught  was  printed  from  a  copy,"  by 
which  I  understand  him  to  mean  a  copy  of  Washington's 
draught  so  corrected,  "  containing  numerous  alterations  in 
"  matter  and  style,  which  were  unquestionably  made  by 
"  Washington."  Washington's  Writings,  vol.  xii,  p.  396. 

Mr.  Sparks  does  not  appear  to  have  seen  Hamilton's 
original  draught,  or  Hamilton's  correction  and  revision  of 
that  draught,  nor  to  have  become  aware  of  them,  before  he 
wrote  this  paragraph,  or  before  he  completed  the  paper  in 
his  Appendix,  upon  Washington's  Farewell  Address.  I 


120  AUTOGRAPH   ALTERATIONS   BY   WASHINGTON. 

should  infer,  also,  that  at  that  time  he  had  not  seen  the 
whole  correspondence  between  Washington  and  Hamilton 
on  that  subject ;  though  he  certainly  had  access  to  General 
Hamilton's  letters,  which  were  among  Washington's  papers. 
He  appears  to  have  had  no  knowledge  of  any  draught  by 
Hamilton,  or  of  anything  from  Hamilton,  but  his  corrections 
and  improvements  of  Washington's  draught,  the  specific 
character  of  which  draught  he  had  previously  remarked, 
there  were  no  means  of  ascertaining.  It  is  due  to  him  to 
state  these  circumstances ;  because  independently  of  them,  it 
will  be  found  impossible  to  comprehend  the  process  by  which 
he  arrived  at  the  conclusion,  that  the  numerous  alterations 
in  matter  and  style  of  that  copy  from  which  the  Address 
was  printed,  "  were  unquestionably  made  by  Washington ;" 
unless  he  used  this  language  with  a  meaning  which  few 
readers  would  apprehend  from  it. 

It  has  been  made  perfectly  clear  already,  that  the  auto 
graph  copy  of  the  Farewell  Address  was  not  made  from  a 
copy  of  Washington's  draught  corrected  and  improved. 
The  letter  of  25th  August,  1796,  from  Washington  to 
Hamilton,  proves  that  Washington  selected  Hamilton's 
draught  in  preference  to  his  own,  whether  in  the  original 
or  in  the  corrected  form ;  and  it  will  be  made  equally  clear, 
that  the  alterations  made  by  the  autograph  copy,  of  the  an 
terior  draught  from  which  it  was  taken,  are  not  "  numerous 
"alterations  in  matter  or  style"  by  Washington,  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  these  words,  but  are,  to  nearly  the  whole 
extent  of  the  change,  a  mere  abridgment,  by  cancellation  of 
certain  paragraphs  of  Hamilton's  exemplar,  from  which  the 
autograph  copy  was  made.  The  judgment  of  Mr.  Sparks 
was  founded,  no  doubt,  upon  a  state  of  the  facts  as  they  were 


THE  DRAUGHT  FROM  WHICH  AUTOGRAPH  COPY  MADE.    121 

then  apparent  to  him,  but  most  materially  different  from 
the  real  state  of  them,  as  they  now  appear. 

Other  persons,  as  well  as  Mr.  Sparks,  have  made  their 
suggestions  in  regard  to  the  inferences  which  should  be 
made  from  these  alterations  in  the  autograph  copy,  now  that 
the  cancelled  passages  have  been  restored  and  printed  at  the 
foot  of  the  page ;  and  I  shall  advert  to  one  of  those  sugges 
tions  presently,  in  connection  with  an  important  reference  to 
Mr.  Jay's  opinion  expressed  to  Judge  Peters. 

It  cannot  admit  of  doubt,  that  when  Washington  pro 
ceeded  to  make  that  autograph  copy,  which  was  published 
in  the  gazette,  and  recorded  in  the  Department  of  State,  he 
had  before  him  a  draught  of  the  Address,  already  prepared 
by  somebody.  The  autograph  paper  was  not  a  first  draught 
— such  a  suggestion  would  not  have  a  shadow  of  support.  It 
has  been  shown  that  there  was  a  previous  paper,  with  which 
it  corresponds  marvellously  in  almost  infinite  points.  But 
what  would  be  decisive,  if  nothing  of  the  kind  had  been 
shown,  there  are  marks  of  finish,  and  some  elaboration,  in 
the  whole  order  and  arrangement,  and  in  entire  pages  of  the 
autograph  copy, — in  one  place  four  in  number,  full  and 
closely  printed  pages, — where  there  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  the  second  touch  of  a  pen,  nor  an  erasure  or  cancella 
tion  of  any  kind,  by  Washington  or  by  anybody.  Besides, 
there  are  many  long  clauses,  now  appearing  at  the  foot  of 
the  pages,  which,  after  being  introduced  by  Washington  into 
the  body  of  the  copy,  have  been  cancelled  by  him,  with 
out  having  been  changed,  in  the  course  of  writing,  by  the 
obliteration  or  interlineation  of  a  word.  The  autograph  has 
several  verbal  alterations  in  other  parts,  such  as  a  writer 
might  make  in  revising  his  own  work,  or  the  work  of  another 


122 


man ;  but  in  these  important  parts  there  is  nothing  of  this 
kind;  and  this  is  practically  an  infallible  proof  that  the 
autograph  is  so  far  the  copy  of  a  previous  draught.  That 
it  was  so  throughout,  before  Washington  began  to  revise 
and  alter  it,  will  be  made  extremely  probable,  if  not  per 
fectly  clear.  The  first  inquiry  is,  whose  and  what  was  that 
previous  draught  I 

It  may  be  recollected  that  Hamilton  sent  his  revision 
of  the  amended  original  draught  in  a  rough  state  to  Wash 
ington,  on  the  6th  September,  1796.  It  was  received,  pro 
bably,  the  next  day,  and  the  autograph  was  signed  and 
dated  the  17th  of  September,  nine  or  ten  days  afterwards. 
It  may  also  be  recollected  that  Washington  intended  to  have 
it  copied,  or  at  least  prepared  for  being  copied,  for  the  press, 
immediately. 

Now,  the  draught  that  was  before  Washington  when  he 
made  his  autograph  copy,  was  not  Hamilton's  original  draught. 
That  original  draught,  probably,  never  left  Hamilton's  pos 
session  during  his  life.  Though  Hamilton's  original  draught 
was  the  basis  of  the  paper  which  he  transcribed  and  sent 
to  Washington,  and  is  also  the  basis  of  the  autograph 
copy,  the  alteration  of  words  in  many  places,  quite  fre 
quently  throughout  the  work — the  change  of  paragraphs 
by  consolidation  and  division — the  occasional  introduction 
of  a  new  thought,  and  a  new  line  or  two,  in  pages  of  the 
autograph  copy  where  there  is  not  an  interlineation  or  era 
sure  by  Washington,  show  that  the  copy  from  which  Wash 
ington  was  writing,  was  a  different  paper.  Whoever  com 
pares  the  autograph  copy  with  the  original  draught  of 
Hamilton,  will  be  convinced  of  this. 

The  presumption  naturally  arises, — and  I  state  it  at  this 


BUT  HAMILTON'S  REVISION.  123 

time  only  as  a  presumption, — that  the  draught  from  which 
Washington  made  his  autograph  copy,  was  Hamilton's 
revision.  Setting  aside  for  the  moment  Washington's  own 
alteration  of  words,  in  the  autograph,  which  speak  pretty 
clearly  for  themselves,  it  was  just  such  a  draught  as  we 
might  expect  Hamilton's  revision  to  be. 

The  original  draught,  it  may  be  recollected,  bears  an  in 
dorsement,  in  Hamilton's  handwriting,  that  it  had  been 
"  considerably  amended."  Words  are  changed,  in  the 
manner  that  is  shown  in  the  two  parallel  columns  on 
page  93  of  this  essay,  of  a  long  clause,  taken  literally  from 
Hamilton's  original  draught,  and  the  corresponding  clause 
taken  from  Washington's  autograph  copy,  upon  which  the 
cancelling  or  altering  pen  of  Washington  has  not,  according 
to  Mr.  Irving's  reprint,  fallen  in  a  single  instance  from  be 
ginning  to  end.  There  are,  perhaps,  twenty  verbal  differ 
ences  between  the  two  clauses,  such  as  a  very  critical  writer 
might  make  in  an  amendment  and  revision  of  his  own  com 
position  ;  but  Washington  does  not  appear  to  have  made  a 
single  one,  by  change  or  obliteration  in  the  autograph  copy; 
and  probably  no  other  man  than  the  author  would  have 
thought  it  a  needful  improvement  to  make  more  than  a  very 
few  of  them. 

In  other  instances,  the  order  of  a  sentence  or  phrase  is 
improved, — a  clause  is  added  upon  "  education," — and  two 
or  three  paragraphs,  which  are  in  the  original  draught  of 
Hamilton,  are  left  out  altogether,  and  not  noticed  in  any 
way  in  the  autograph  copy.  This  is  strong  presumptive 
proof  that  it  was  Hamilton  who  left  them  out  of  his 
amended  copy. 

Nearly  a  dozen  paragraphs  in  the  autograph  were  copied 


124  WASHINGTON'S  AUTOGRAPH  CANCELLATIONS. 

and  then  cancelled  by  Washington,  and  are  now  seen  re 
stored  at  the  foot  of  the  pages  in  the  printed  copy  of  the 
autograph.  Some  of  these  are,  probably,  the  paragraphs 
which  Washington,  in  his  letter  of  25th  August,  told  Ham 
ilton  that  he  should  expunge.  "  I  shall  expunge," — not 
that  he  had  expunged  them, — as  being  "  unimportant"  &c. 
&c.  One  of  them  is  a  long  paragraph,  so  marked  in  the 
printed  copy  of  the  autograph.  Hamilton  had  retouched 
them  all  in  his  corrected  and  amended  copy,  or  in  his  revi 
sion  of  the  original  draught,  just  as  he  had  retouched  other 
paragraphs  of  that  draught,  and  had  left  Washington  to 
expunge  them,  if  he  should  see  fit ;  but  Washington  had 
not  touched  a  word  before  expunging  them,  but  in  two  in 
stances,  to  be  noticed  hereafter.  It  looks  as  if  Washington 
had  subsequently  intended  to  retain  them,  but  had  afterwards 
cancelled  them,  in  conformity  with  his  first  intention. 

All  the  appearances  in  the  autograph — and  some  of  them 
will  be  further  corroborated— show  that  it  was  Hamilton's 
revision  of  his  amended  copy  of  the  original  draught  that 
Washington  first  copied  in  extenso,  and  then  proceeded  to 
alter  and  to  cancel.  This,  I  repeat,  is  only  presumption. 
The  main  question  will  not  be  disturbed  by  its  not  being 
well  founded;  though,  if  it  be  well  founded,  it  becomes 
demonstrative  of  the  whole  question. 

The  gentleman  who  is  the  present  proprietor  of  the  auto 
graph,  and  whose  remarks  upon  it  are  printed  as  a  preface 
to  the  copy  in  Mr.  Irving's  work,  after  seeing  the  original 
draught  of  Hamilton,  and  reading  certain  letters  between 
Washington  and  Hamilton,  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  John 
C.  Hamilton,  has  expressed,  with  caution  and  modesty,  the 
following  opinion:  " It  seems  probable  that  this" — namely, 


OPINIONS    EXPRESSED    CONCERNING   THEM.  125 

the  autograph  copy  of  Washington — "  is  the  very  draught 
"  sent  to  General  Hamilton  and  Chief  Justice  Jay,  as  related 
"  in  the  letter  of  the  latter."  And  again :  "  It  appears  from 
"  these  communications," — the  letters  between  Washington 
and  Hamilton, — "  that  the  President,  both  in  sending  to  him 
"  a  rough  draught  of  the  document,  and  at  subsequent  dates, 
"  requested  him  to  prepare  such  an  address  as  he  thought 
"  would  be  appropriate  to  the  occasion ;  that  Washington 
"  consulted  him  particularly  and  most  minutely  on  many 
"  points  connected  with  it ;  and  that,  at  different  times, 
"  General  Hamilton  did  forward  to  the  President  three 
"  draughts  of  such  a  paper.  The  first  was  sent  back  to  him, 
"  with  suggestions  for  its  correction  and  enlargement ;  from 
"  the  second  draught,  thus  altered  and  improved,  the  manu- 
"  script  now  printed  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  prepared 
"  by  Washington,  and  transmitted  for  final  examination  to 
"  General  Hamilton  and  Judge  Jay ;  and  with  it  the  third 
"  draught  was  sent  to  the  President,  and  may,  probably,  yet 
"  be  found  among  his  papers." — The  concluding  remark  of 
this  gentleman  is  all  that  we  shall  further  extract :  "  The 
"  comparison  of  these  two  papers " — Hamilton's  original 
draught,  which  the  writer  speaks  of  as  "probably  the 
"  second  of  these  draughts,"  compared  with  Washington's 
autograph — "  is  exceedingly  curious.  It  is  difficult  to  con- 
"  ceive  how  two  persons  could  express  the  same  ideas,  in 
"  substantially  the  same  language,  and  yet  in  such  diversity 
"  in  the  construction  of  the  sentences  and  the  position  of  the 
"  words." 

I  entirely  agree  with  this  gentleman  in  a  part  of  these 
remarks.  It  has  been  shown  to  be  my  supposition,  that  the 
autograph  copy  of  Washington  was  prepared  from  the 


126  DISSENT    FROM    SOME    OF   THESE    OPINIONS. 

amended  or  corrected  copy  of  Hamilton's  original  draught, 
altered  and  improved  by  his  second,  which  I  have  called  his 
revision.  The  differences  between  the  original  draught  and 
Washington's  autograph  copy — noticed  in  this  gentleman's 
closing  remark  just  quoted — are  easily  explained,  upon  the 
theory  that  Washington  adopted  Hamilton's  revision,  and 
not  Hamilton's  original  draught,  as  the  exemplar  of  the 
autograph  copy. 

But  I  am  compelled  to  express  my  dissent  from  the  other 
remarks  and  suggestions  of  the  proprietor  of  the  autograph. 
The  material  fact,  as  he  states  it,  is,  in  my  opinion,  rightly 
stated ;  but  the  history  of  Hamilton's  agency,  and  the  trans 
mission  of  the  autograph  copy  to  Hamilton  and  Jay,  or  of 
any  copy  of  the  Farewell  Address  prepared  by  Washington, 
after  Hamilton's  amended  and  revised  copy  had  been  sent  to 
him,  are  matters  which  I  think  this  gentleman  would  have 
regarded  differently,  if  he  had  had  all  the  letters  and  papers 
in  his  own  hands,  for  deliberate  consideration  and  compari 
son.  It  is  a  patient  and  minute  review  of  the  whole  of 
them,  side  by  side,  including  Mr.  Jay's  letter  to  Judge 
Peters,  that  has  obliged  me  to  adopt  the  opinion,  that  the 
supposed  transmission  is  not  only  negatived  by  the  corre 
spondence,  but  that  it  disregards  the  dates  of  the  letters,  the 
course  of  the  transaction  as  it  is  shown  by  the  letters,  and, 
most  of  all,  the  statement  of  Mr.  Jay  himself. 

The  first  draught  sent  by  Hamilton  to  Washington  was 
not  sent  back  to  Hamilton,  "  with  suggestions  for  its  correc 
tion  and  enlargement."  Washington's  letters  of  the  10th 
and  25th  of  August  are  decisive  to  the  contrary.  Instead 
of  suggesting  enlargement  of  that  draught,  the  letter  of  the 
10th  August  was  only  apprehensive  of  its  being  too  large  as 


AUTOGRAPH    COPY   NOT    SENT   TO    HAMILTON   AND    JAY.         127 

it  was;  and  instead  of  suggesting  correction, — though  the 
paper  was  sent  back,  at  Hamilton's  request,  for  revision, — 
the  letter  of  25th  August  says  that  Washington  "  should 
"  have  seen  no  occasion  himself  for  its  undergoing  a  re- 
"  vision."  It  says  that  he  should  expunge  all  that  was 
marked  in  the  paper  as  unimportant,  &c.,  and  called  atten 
tion  to  some  marginal  notes  with  a  pencil,  to  obtain 
Hamilton's  mature  consideration  of  the  sentiments  referred 
to.  With  these  very  limited  qualifications,  the  letter  was  a 
full  adoption  of  Hamilton's  draught  in  all  points. 

It  is  also  a  misapprehension  to  suppose  that  Hamilton's 
"  second  draught,"  from  which  "  the  manuscript  now  printed 
"  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  prepared  by  Washington," 
was  "  transmitted  for  final  examination  to  General  Hamilton 
"  and  Jay." 

There  was  no  such  transmission.  The  letters  and  dates 
are  plainly  to  the  contrary.  Time  alone  considered,  there 
was  not  sufficient  time.  The  draught  was  sent  back  to 
Washington,  with  a  letter  from  Hamilton  dated  the  6th  of 
September,  and  the  Farewell  Address  was  copied  with 
Washington's  own  pen,  and  was  signed  and  dated  for  the 
gazette  and  for  recording  in  the  Department  of  State,  the 
17th  of  September,  1796. 

It  must  be  recollected,  that  fifteen  years  after  Mr.  Jay  had 
been  consulted  about  the  corrections  and  emendations  of  "  the 
"  President's  draught,"  and  the  only  time,  so  far  as  his  letter 
imports,  that  he  ever  was  consulted  in  regard  to  any  draught 
of  the  Farewell  Address,  he  speaks  in  his  letter  of  its  having 
been  some  time  before  the  Address  appeared ;  and  we  know 
that  the  Farewell  Address  appeared  on  the  19th  September, 
1796,  in  a  public  gazette  of  Philadelphia.  The  interval  had 


128  AUTOGRAPH    NOT    SENT   TO    HAMILTON   AND   JAY. 

impressed  Mr.  Jay's  memory.  It  was  long  enough  to  have 
made  an  impression  which  had  lasted  nearly  fifteen  years. 
It  is  not  conceivable  that  any  interval  whatever  would  have 
been  impressed  as  a  distinct  fact  upon  Mr.  Jay's  memory, 
between  the  time  of  conference  upon  an  autograph  paper,  the 
exemplar  of  which  was  received  by  Washington  on  the  7th 
of  September  at  the  earliest,  copied  with  his  own  pen  after 
that,  and  then  transmitted  to  Hamilton  and  Jay,  reviewed, 
corrected,  and  amended  by  Hamilton,  a  day  fixed  for  an 
interview  with  Jay  to  consult  about  it,  and  that  subsequent 
day  given  to  the  reading  and  approval  of  the  emendations, 
and  after  that  review  returned  to  Washington  and  more 
fully  corrected  by  him,  before  the  17th  September.  Steam 
speed  is  not  equal  to  this.-  I  say  nothing  of  Mr.  Jay's  omit 
ting  to  write  a  word  of  its  being  an  autograph  of  Washing 
ton,  which  he  would  have  known  and  noticed  as  soon  as  any 
one,  nor  of  Hamilton's  saying  in  the  interview,  that  he  had 
thought  it  "  best  to  write  the  whole  over  with  amendments," 
&c.  We  cannot  under  such  suggestions  abandon  Hamil 
ton's  letter  of  10th  August. 

But  further:  from  the  6th  of  September,  there  was  no 
letter  from  Washington  to  Hamilton,  but  one  of  the  same 
date,  which  requested  Hamilton  to  send  the  paper  by  Mr. 
Kip,  if  not  sent  before,  until  the  2d  November,  six  weeks 
after  the  Farewell  Address  had  been  printed.*  Mr.  Jay's 


*  It  id  in  this  letter  of  2d  November,  1790,  from  Washington  to  Hamilton,  a  letter  of 
three  pages,  referring  to  the  case  of  the  minister  of  France,  Adet,  and  asking  Hamil 
ton's  opinion  on  the  course  the  Government  should  take  in  regard  to  him,  that  Wash 
ington  thus  speaks  of  his  unrestrained  confidence  and  freedom  of  correspondence  with 
Hamilton  :  "  As  I  have  a  very  high  opinion  of  Mr.  Jay's  judgment,  candor,  honor,  and 
"  discretion  (though  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  writing  so  freely  to  him  as  to  you),  it  would 


AUTOGRAPH    NOT   SENT   TO   HAMILTON   AND   JAY.  129 

privity  with  the  subject  began  and  ended  in  the  one  inter 
view,  of  which  the  result  was  sent  to  Washington  on  the 
10th  August.  The  supposition  that  the  autograph  ever 
came  back  to  Hamilton,  either  individually  or  for  joint  con 
sultation  and  alteration  by  Hamilton  and  Jay,  is  therefore 
not  only  without  authority  from  the  correspondence,  but  is 
in  direct  opposition  to  it,  as  well  as  to  Mr.  Jay's  letter  to 
Judge  Peters. 

But  the  decisive  consideration  against  the  transmission  of 
an  autograph  copy,  or  any  other  prepared  copy,  of  the  Fare 
well  Address  to  -Hamilton  and  Jay  for  correction,  and  the 
return  of  such  copy  corrected  for  the  final  Farewell  Address, 
is  this.  There  was  but  one  interview  between  Jay  and 
Hamilton  on  this  subject — one  interview,  after  the  time  for 
it  was  previously  arranged  between  them.  Mr.  Jay's  letter 
to  Judge  Peters  mentions  that,  and  no  other,  interview. 
The  proceedings  at  that  interview  are  detailed  by  Mr.  Jay 
with  great  distinctness,  both  what  was  said  and  what  was 
done.  The  result  of  the  interview  is  given  with  equal  dis 
tinctness:  it  was  the  reading  and  approving  of  a  paper 
containing  amendments  of  "  the  President's  draught,"  as 
Mr.  Jay  calls  it,  of  which  the  original  was  left  fair ;  and  the 
amendments  were  so  made,  or  arranged,  that  Washington 
would  perceive  by  inspection  where  they  would  find  their 
proper  places  in  that  draught.  Now,  let  it  be  remarked, 
such  a  correction  of  Washington's  draught  existed  in  ori- 


"  be  very  pleasing  to  me,  if  you  would  show  him  this  letter  (although  it  is  a  hurried 
"  one,  my  time  having  been  much  occupied  since  my  arrival  by  the  heads  of  depart- 
"  ments,  and  with  the  papers  which  have  been  laid  before  me),  and  let  me  have  for 
"  consideration  your  joint  opinions  on  the  several  matters  herein  stated." — Hamilton's 
Works,  vol.  vi,  p.  159. 

9 


130     HAMILTON'S  CORRECTIONS  OF  WASHINGTON'S  DRAUGHT. 

ginal  at  Washington's  death,  and  was  found  among  Wash 
ington's  papers.  It  is  the  same  which  Hamilton  returned 
to  Washington,  on  the  10th  August,  1796.  A  copy  of  it  is 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Sparks.  I  have  seen  and  read  a 
copy  of  Mr.  Sparks's  copy.*  It  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  it 


*  A  few  days  after  this  essay  was  put  to  press,  and  a  part  of  it  printed,  I  was  favored 
by  Mr.  John  C.  Hamilton  with  a  copy  of  the  paper  containing  Hamilton's  corrections  of 
Washington's  draught,  received  by  him  from  Mr.  Sparks  ;  the  paper  alluded  to  in  Ham 
ilton's  letter  to  Washington,  dated  10th  August,  1796.  It  is  a  paper  of  thirteen  manu 
script  pages,  foolscap,  sparsely  written  on  one  side  of  each  leaf;  and,  except  on  the 
first  page,  written  in  two  columns.  The  beginning  of  it  is  obviously  intended  to  be  a 
substitute  for  the  beginning  of  Washington's  original  draught  of  an  Address,  and  modi 
fies  it  to  some  extent.  After  completing  the  correction  of  this  part,  there  follows,  in 
the  right  hand  column  of  the  second  page,  this  line,  as  the  beginning  of  a  new  para 
graph :  "The  period,  &c.  (take  in  the  whole  Address.)"  The  words  "The  period," 
are  the  initial  words  of  Mr.  Madison's  draught.  See  Washington's  Works,  vol.  xii,  page 
387.  The  words  of  the  line  between  parentheses,  are  therefore  a  direction  to  go  on 
with  the  whole  of  Mr.  Madison's  draught. 

The  copy  then  proceeds,  in  the  subsequent  pages,  to  arrange,  modify,  and  add  to  the 
thoughts  expressed  in  the  paper  entitled  by  Mr.  Sparks,  "  Hints,  or  Heads  of  Topics," 
beginning  with  the  following  paragraph,  written  by  Hamilton :  "  Had  not  particular 
"  occurrences  intervened  to  exhibit  our  political  situation,  in  some  respects,  under  new 
"  attitudes,  I  should  have  thought  it  unnecessary  to  add  anything  to  what  precedes,"  &c. 
This  supplies  the  first  sentence  of  the  "  Hints,  or  Heads  of  Topics,"  which  is  as  follows: 
"  Had  the  situation  of  our  public  affairs  continued  to  wear  the  same  aspect  they  assumed 
"  at  the  time  the  foregoing  Address  was  drawn,  I  should  not  have  taken  the  liberty  of 
"  troubling  you,  my  fellow-citizens,  with  any  new  sentiment,"  &c. ;  and,  after  this  first 
paragraph  closes,  there  is  an  asterisk,  directing  the  reader  to  the  top  of  the  adjacent 
column,  on  the  left  hand  side,  where  Hamilton  immediately  introduces  the  subject  of 
the  Union,  (the  last  but  one  of  Washington's  wishes  or  vows  in  the  "  Heads,  or  Hints  of 
"  Topics,")  in  these  words:  "  Let  me,  then,  conjure  you,  fellow-citizens,  atill  more  ear- 
"  nestly  than  I  have  done,  to  hold  fast  to  that  Union  which  constitutes  you  one  people;" 
and  he  goes  on  through  the  following  pages  to  page  8  of  the  manuscript,  with  an  orderly 
notice  of  other  parts  of  the  "  Hints,  or  Heads  of  Topics,"  very  much  after  the  manner 
of  his  original  draught,  introducing  on  page  8,  opposite  to  a  paragraph  in  regard  to  the 
spirit  of  party,  the  following  line,  written  lengthwise  on  the  right  hand  margin :  "  This 
"is  not  in  the  first — maybe  interwoven;"  the  first  referring,  no  doubt,  to  Hamilton's 
original  and  amended  draught,  already  sent  on.  And  then  the  paper  proceeds  to  the 


SAME    SUBJECT    CONTINUED.  131 

is  a  correction  or  emendation  of  Washington's  original  or 
preparatory  draught,  and  no  more ;  and  in  plan,  and  con- 


end  of  the  amendments  and  of  the  paper  itself  in  the  same  manner,  closing  with  these 
words :  "  The  nation  which  indulges  against  another  habitual  hatred,  or  for  another 
"  habitual  fondness,  is  in  some  degree  a  slave.  It  is,"  &c.  Immediately  below  which 
is  this  direction :  "  To  the  end,  as  in  the  former."  At  the  top  of  the  left  hand  column 
of  this  last  page  (13),  and  opposite  to  the  concluding  paragraph,  of  which  I  have  given 
the  closing  lines,  are  these  words:  "Varied  from  the  first  I  sent,  and  I  think  for  the 
"  better.  If  the  first  be  preserved  (?  preferred),  'tis  easy  to  incorporate  this." 

By  recurring  to  Hamilton's  original  draught,  in  his  Works,  vol.  vii,  page  589,  it  will 
readily  be  perceived,  that  the  direction  "  to  the  end,  as  in  the  former,"  refers  to  the 
middle  of  the  second  paragraph  on  that  page,  where  these  words  occur :  "  That  nation 
"  which  indulges  towards  another  an  habitual  hatred,  or  an  habitual  fondness,  is  in  some 
"  degree  a  slave.  .  .  It  is  a  slave  to  its  animosity,"  &c.  Hamilton's  direction,  therefore, 
is  to  go  on  to  the  end  of  that  paragraph,  in  the  copy  of  his  original  and  amended 
draught,  sent  on  the  30th  July ;  perhaps,  also,  to  the  end  of  Washington's  Conclusion. 

There  is  no  further  clause  or  direction  on  my  copy  of  the  paper,  nor  was  there,  I 
presume,  on  the  original.  We  may  suppose,  therefore,  perhaps,  that  the  corrections, 
having  supplied  the  place  of  Mr.  Sparks's  "  Hints,  or  Heads  of  Topics,"  Washington's 
Conclusion,  as  I  have  called  it,  was  to  be  followed  to  the  end,  after  the  paragraph 
referred  to  in  his  own  draught  first  sent. 

This  character  of  the  paper  I  possess,  which  I  think  is  here  accurately  described, 
though  it  substantially  accords  with  Mr.  Jay's  account  of  it,  makes  it  difficult  to  believe 
that  at  least  parts  of  the  "President's  draught"  were  not  read  at  that  interview  from 
the  very  paper  itself;  for  in  the  copy  there  are  but  two  words  written  of  Mr.  Madison's 
draught,  nor  yet  any  part  of  Washington's  Conclusion.  There  is  not  even  an  express 
direction  at  the  end,  to  include  that  Conclusion.  But  as  the  subjects  contained  in  the 
"  Hints,  or  Heads  of  Topics"  had  been  corrected  and  amended  by  Hamilton,  as  far  as 
he  intended,  and  as  his  own  correcting  paper  did  not  supply  any  conclusion  at  all,  the 
former  direction  to  go  on  "to  the  end,  as  in  the  former,"  may  have  comprehended  the 
Conclusion  of  Washington's  paper,  as  well  as  the  remainder  of  the  paragraph  in  his 
draught  first  sent. 

It  would  seem  to  follow,  that  the  lapse  of  time  had  in  some  degree  impaired  Mr. 
Jay's  recollections  of  the  interview.  Parts  of  Washington's  draught  must  have  been 
read  from  the  paper.  Neither  Madison's  draught  nor  Washington's  Conclusion  appears 
in  my  copy.  The  paper,  moreover,  is  not  a  transcript,  as  Mr.  Sparks  calls  it,  but  Wash 
ington's  paper  "corrected  upon  the  general  plan  of  it,"  as  Hamilton's  letter  of  25th 
June  said  it  would  be,  with  marks  and  references  to  show  how  the  corrections  or 
amendments  should  be  incorporated. 


132     WASHINGTON'S  ORIGINAL  DRAUGHT,  THE  ONLY  PAPER 

spicuously  in  extent  or  volume,  is  a  totally  different  paper 
from  the  Farewell  Address,  from  Hamilton's  original 
draught,  and  from  Washington's  autograph  copy,  in  either 
stage  of  it,  with  or  without  the  cancelled  passages.  But  it  is 
certain,  at  the  same  time,  that  Hamilton's  corrections,  in 
several  particulars,  followed  the  sentiments  and  language 
of  his  original  draught,  with  or  without  such  variations  as 
he  introduced  into  his  amended  copy,  which  he  sent  to 
Washington  on  the  30th  July,  1796, — the  corrections  of 
Washington's  draught  having  been  begun  and  being  under 
way  before  he  sent  his  amended  copy  to  Washington. 

It  follows  necessarily,  from  these  premises,  that  the  auto 
graph  copy  was  not  sent  to  Hamilton  and  Jay,  and  that  they 
had  no  interview  to  correct  it,  and  that  they  did  not  correct 
it ;  and,  if  we  may  imply  a  negative  from  the  full  affirmative 
evidence  we  possess,  that  neither  Jay  nor  Hamilton  ever 
saw  it.  The  paper  which  was  read  and  approved  in  that 
interview,  and  sent  back,  was  Washington's  original  draught, 
and  not  Hamilton's  original  draught,  nor  Hamilton's  revi 
sion  of  that  draught,  nor  Washington's  autograph  copy  of 
the  Farewell  Address,  nor  anything  else  but  Washington's 
original  or  preparatory  draught  amended,  the  same  which 
was  sent  to  Washington  on  the  10th  of  August.  The  paper 
thus  sent  to  Washington  was  not  the  subject  of  a  single 
remark  by  him  afterwards,  except  in  his  letter  of  25th 
August,  when  he  inclosed  to  Hamilton,  at  his  own  request, 
the  amended  copy  of  Hamilton's  original  draught,  and  said, 
"  I  have  given  the  paper  herewith  inclosed  several  serious 
"  and  attentive  readings,  and  prefer  it  greatly  to  the  other 
"  draughts" — which  other  draughts  were  two  only,  Wash 
ington's  original  or  preparatory  draught,  "  left,  fair,"  as  Mr. 


CORRECTED  BY  HAMILTON  WITH  JAY.  133 

Jay  says,  and  the  emendations  of  it  by  Hamilton,  which  had 
been  read  by  Hamilton  to  Jay.  The  supposition,  therefore, 
that  Hamilton  and  Jay,  or  Hamilton  with  Jay's  assistance, 
made,  by  amendment  or  otherwise,  a  third  draught,  after 
Washington  had  sent  forward  his  autograph  copy,  or  a  pre 
pared  copy,  of  the  Farewell  Address,  for  correction,  con 
founds  both  dates  and  facts,  and  puts  all  the  letters  of 
Washington  and  Hamilton,  and  Mr.  Jay's  letter  to  Judge 
Peters,  just  as  much  as  the  others,  completely  out  of  joint. 
Of  course,  a  hasty  or  current  perusal  of  Hamilton's  letters 
arid  original  draught  might  have  led  to  the  same  impression 
in  anybody,  which  the  Preface  to  the  copy  of  the  autograph 
in  Mr.  Irving's  work  expresses ;  but  the  possession  of  those 
letters  for  the  requisite  time  in  my  hands,  has  enabled  me 
to  look  with  great  care  into  the  whole  series,  and  to  get,  I 
think,  the  true  bearing  of  all. 

It  may  be  very  safely  predicted  that  such  a  third  draught 
as  the  Preface  in  Mr.  Irving's  Appendix  postulates,  will 
never  be  found,  since  no  one  of  the  letters  I  have  referred 
to,  recognizes  it  as  having  existed,  and,  on  the  contrary,  the 
very  connected  story  they  tell  implies,  necessarily,  that  it 
never  did  exist.  That  Hamilton's  revision,  from  which  I 
have  supposed  that  Washington  copied  his  autograph  in 
extenso  in  the  first  instance,  before  he  altered  any  part  of  it, — 
the  same  which  the  Preface  in  Mr.  Irving's  Appendix  calls 
Hamilton's  second  draught, — will  never  be  found,  is  another 
matter.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Washington,  according 
to  his  uniform  habit,  of  which  the  traces  are  strong  in  regard 
to  the  papers  concerning  the  Farewell  Address,  did  preserve 
it  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  In  all  probability,  it  will 
not  be  found,  if  there  has  been  anything  illicit  in  its  disap- 


134    HAMILTON'S  REVISION,  THE  EXEMPLAR  OF  AUTOGRAPH. 

pearance.  If  it  shall  be  found,  it  will  supersede  this  con 
jecture  as  to  the  immediate  exemplar  of  the  autograph  copy; 
but  there  is  quite  enough  in  the  original  draught  of  Ham 
ilton,  compared  with  the  autograph  copy,  to  convert  all  the 
conjectures,  which  the  recovery  of  that  revision  wrould 
supersede,  into  most  reasonable  certainty  at  the  present 
time. 

I  assume,  therefore,  as  reasonably  well  proved,  that  Wash 
ington  wrote  that  autograph  copy  from  the  revision  by  Ham 
ilton  of  his  original  draught,  amended  or  corrected,  which 
was  sent  to  Washington  on  the  6th  of  September ;  and  tftat 
Washington  copied  the  whole  of  that  revision  in  extenso,  as 
it  was  obviously  his  intention  to  do,  when  he  wrote  his  letter 
to  Hamilton  of  the  25th  of  August;  and  that  afterwards  he 
cancelled  and  altered,  as  the  cancelled  passages  and  altered 
words,  now  restored  by  Mr.  Lenox,  or  by  his  direction,  will 
show.  This,  I  repeat,  is  mere  hypothesis ;  but  the  appear 
ances  will  be  found  to  sustain  it  strongly ;  and  if  they  do  not, 
the  main  question  will  stand  as  it  did  before  the  suggestion 
was  made. 

There  are  one  or  two  facts  or  appearances  noticed  by  the 
proprietor  of  the  autograph  copy,  which  seem  to  cross  this 
theory  of  a  complete  transfer  of  the  revision  into  that  copy 
in  the  first  instance,  before  parts  were  cancelled.  But,  per 
haps,  for  want  of  access  to  the  original  of  the  printed  copy, 
they  do  not  appear  to  me  to  be  decisive ;  and  there  are  also 
several  facts  or  appearances  which  seem  to  be  irreconcilable 
with  any  other  hypothesis,  or  with  the  actual  condition  of 
the  autograph  copy,  as  the  printed  copy  from  it  shows  it  to 
be.  I  will  consider  the  appearances  or  facts  of  each  descrip 
tion. 


SUGGESTIONS    TO    THE    CONTRARY.  135 

There  is  nothing  decisive  in  the  fact  which  is  noticed  by 
the  proprietor  of  the  autograph  copy,  that  some  of  "  the  altera- 
"  tions  were  evidently  made  during  the  writing  of  the  paper  " 
as  "  in  these  instances,  a  part  and  even  the  whole  of  a 
"  sentence  is  struck  out,  which  afterwards  occurs  in  the  body 
"  of  the  Address." 

These  changes  are  certainly  few  and  partial,  and  they  may 
have  been  made  in  the  course  of  the  writing,  without  con 
ducing  materially  to  the  proof  that  this  was  generally  the 
case  with  the  other  alterations. 

The  only  instances  of  this  nature  which  I  have  discovered, 
though  there  may  be  others,  are  two,  one  on  page  359  in 
Mr.  Irving's  Appendix,  and  the  other  on  page  360.  The 
last  will  be  noticed  in  another  place.  On  page  359,  two 
lines  are  transferred  from  an  earlier  part  of  a  sentence  to  the 
end  of  a  paragraph,  which  is  the  end  of  the  same  sentence. 
It  would  probably  require  close  inspection  of  the  autograph 
to  determine  that  this  change  had  been  made  "  during  the 
"  writing  of  the  paper,"  and  not  afterwards.  I  do  not  mean 
to  question  the  fact,  for  I  have  not  examined  the  autograph 
in  reference  to  this  point ;  but  little  if  any  more  space  would 
have  been  necessary  for  the  insertion  of  the  two  lines  can 
celled,  than  is  commonly  left  between  paragraphs. 

But  supposing  that  in  this,  and  in  the  other  instance  to  be 
noticed  presently,  Washington  did  transpose  parts  of  a  para 
graph  "  in  the  course  of  writing,"  and  even  cancel  a  short 
paragraph,  and  write  another  leaving  out  a  line  or  two  of  the 
first,  there  is  strong  countervailing  evidence  against  this  as 
being  the  general  course. 

There  are  ten  clauses  in  small  type  at  the  foot  of  the  pages 
in  Mr.  Irving's  Appendix  which,  by  the  Preface,  are  indi- 


136  ANSWERS   TO    THE    SUGGESTIONS. 

cated  as  having  been  "  struck  out,"  I  presume  cancelled,  in 
the  body  of  the  autograph,  and  now  restored  by  careful 
examination,  and  placed  at  the  bottom  of  the  respective 
pages. 

One  of  these  clauses  on  pages  362,  363,  contains  nineteen 
lines  and  a  fraction  in  the  small  type.  Another  of  them  on 
pages  366,  367,  contains  nearly  fifteen  lines.  A  third  on 
page  363,  contains  nearly  eleven  lines ;  and  the  aggregate  of 
all  the  lines  of  the  clauses  referred  to  as  having  been  so 
struck  out,  and  now  restored  and  placed  at  foot,  is  a  large 
fraction  of  a  line  more  than  sixty  lines.  All  these  lines 
were  written  in  the  body  of  the  autograph,  and  then  struck 
out  or  cancelled.  If  they  had  been  printed  in  the  Appendix 
in  the  same  type  with  the  body  of  the  Address,  they  would 
have  filled  three  full  pages  of  it,  or  nearly  one-fifth  of  the 
whole  Address,  as  it  now  stands  in  Mr.  Irving's  Appendix. 
Of  course,  I  do  not  mean  to  be  understood  as  speaking  with 
technical  accuracy,  for  I  have  not  asked  the  opinion  of  a 
printer  in  regard  to  this  fact.  It  cannot  be  supposed,  I 
think,  that  such  masses  as  these  were  first  written,  and  then 
cancelled  in  the  course  of  the  writing. 

There  are  two  other  clauses  of  like  description  in  pages 
361,  366,  which  might  be  added  to  the  ten,  but  I  distinguish 
them  to  make  a  subsequent  remark  of  my  own  more  intel 
ligible. 

The  natural  and  most  probable,  if  not  certain  course,  of 
Washington,  if  it  is  regarded  in  the  light  of  these  clauses, 
was  to  write  over  the  whole  draught  he  was  copying,  includ 
ing  all  of  the  clauses  referred  to,  and  then  to  go  back  and 
alter  words,  or  strike  out  paragraphs,  as  he  should  think  fit. 
To  write  out,  and  then  to  cancel,  every  part  of  these  twelve 


ANSWERS    CONTINUED.  137 

paragraphs,  u  in  the  course  of  writing,"  or  "  during  the  wri 
ting,"  is  a  much  less  reasonable  supposition. 

One  striking  fact  in  regard  to  all  the  clauses  at  the  foot 
of  the  pages,  is,  that  but  one  of  them  bears  a  trace  of  verbal 
alteration  by  Washington  ;  which  is  less  than  the  most  facile 
and  felicitous  writer  must  have  made  in  the  first  draught 
of  such  long  paragraphs.  This  only  exception  is  on  page 
366  of  Mr.  Irving's  Appendix,  where  constitution  is  substi 
tuted  for  order i  and  adherents  for  retainers.  There  must,  I 
think,  have  been  some  intention  of  Washington  to  retain 
these  paragraphs  at  the  time  these  words  were  changed.  The 
rest  must  all  have  been  fairly  transcribed  by  Washington 
into  his  autograph  Address  from  the  exemplar  that  was 
before  him.  It  can  be  shown  demonstrably  that  Washington 
did  not  compose  any  of  the  ten  clauses  referred  to;  and 
therefore,  if  the  supposition  of  his  having  made  the  cancella 
tion  "  during  the  writing,"  is  suggested  to  give  a  more  usual 
appearance  of  authorship  in  Washington,  it  is  of  no  avail ; 
for,  except  in  a  few  of  the  rather  self-justifying  thoughts, 
Washington's  authorship  is  not  there,  wherever  else  it  may 
be.  It  was  his  further  consideration  of  these  thoughts  that 
probably  induced  him  to  cancel  more  than  one  of  these  para 
graphs  ;  and  the  rest,  only  because  they  added  to  the  length 
of  the  Address. 

Another  fact  equally  worthy  of  notice,  is,  that  when  the 
ten  clauses  first  referred  to  were  written  and  then  struck 
out,  nothing  was  substituted  in  their  place,  except  in  two 
instances,  one  on  page  369,  and  the  other  on  page  375.  On 
page  369,  a  clause  which  was  written  on  a  separate  piece  of 
paper,  is  wafered  on  or  over  the  passage  that  had  been  written 
in  the  autograph  copy  and  then  cancelled,  and  is  now  printed 


138  THE    WAFERED    PAPER    ON    EDUCATION. 

at  foot.  That  wafered  paper  bears  a  clause  which  Wash 
ington,  by  his  letter  of  September  1st,  requested  Hamilton 
to  introduce  into  his  revision  in  regard  to  education  gene 
rally,  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  a  university  parti 
cularly  ;  and  suggested  that  a  section  comprehending  both 
subjects  "  would  come  in  very  properly  after  the  one  which 
"  relates  to  our  religious  obligations ;  or,  in  a  preceding  part, 
"  as  one  of  the  recommendatory  measures  to  counteract  the 
"  evils  arising  from  geographical  discriminations."  Hamil 
ton,  in  his  reply  of  September  4th,  said,  that  "  the  idea  of 
"  the  university"  would  be  most  properly  reserved  for  Wash 
ington's  speech  at  the  beginning  of  the  session.  "  A  general 
"  suggestion,"  he  said,  "  respecting  education  will  very  fitly 
"  come  into  the  Address."  He  introduced  it,  no  doubt,  in 
his  revision,  in  the  very  place  which  Washington  first  pointed 
out,  "  after  the  clause  which  relates  to  our  religious  obliga 
tions;"  and  there  Washington  has  wafered  it  over  a 
clause  in  recommendation  of  industry  and  frugality,  which 
had  been  cancelled  by  him,  and  is  now  found  at  the  foot  of 
the  printed  page  in  Mr.  Irving's  Appendix.  As  Washington 
was  specially  concerned  in  this  education  clause,  and  could 
not  have  intended  to  omit  it,  the  natural  explanation  of  the 
wafered  paper  is,  that  in  copying  the  revision  into  his  auto 
graph,  perhaps  from  the  education  clause  being  written  in 
the  margin  of  Hamilton's  rough  revision,  and  only  referred 
to  by  a  mark  of  some  kind  in  the  place  where  it  was  to  go, 
Washington  overlooked  the  clause  in  copying,  and  had  left 
no  place  in  his  copy-book  for  it,  except  by  wafering  it  over 
a  very  good  and  rather  necessary  paragraph  on  the  subject 
of  industry  and  economy. 

This  little  fact  is  very  significant  in  regard  to  the  manner 


THE    SAME    SUBJECT    CONTINUED.  139 

of  copying  the  Address.  The  clause  upon  education  was  of 
great  importance  in  Washington's  estimation ;  so  much  so, 
as  to  have  been  asked  for  by  a  special  communication  to 
.Hamilton ;  and  it  was  to  be  the  precursor  of  a  recommenda 
tion  to  Congress  at  its  approaching  session,  to  establish  a 
national  university.  It  must  of  necessity  therefore  appear 
in  some  proper  place  in  the  Address.  It  could  not  be  omit 
ted.  It  is  not  possible  that  Washington  could  have  had  any 
objection  to  the  paragraph  upon  the  subject  of  industry  and 
frugality.  Habits  of  this  nature  were  not  only  of  great 
importance  to  the  people,  but  they  were  his  own  habits,  ob 
served  by  himself  with  due  reference  to  his  own  station  and 
fortune,  and  inculcated  upon  all  his  family  and  dependants. 
But  more  than  this,  it  was  a  paragraph  necessary  to  complete 
Hamilton's  view  of  the  moral  virtues  to  be  inculcated,  after 
having  given  the  first  place  to  religion  and  morality  in  their 
more  solemn  acceptation.  His  abstract  announced  "  industry 
"  and  economy,"  along  with  "  religion  and  morals,"  as  matters 
upon  which  the  draught  was  further  to  dilate ;  and  so  he 
introduced  the  notice  in  his  original  draught,  and  kept  it  in 
the  revision.  Why  was  so  good  a  paragraph  obliterated,  by 
wafering  over  it  the  clause  upon  education  I 

There  is  a  little  contrivance  in  some  printing  offices  and 
factories  which  consume  much  water,  by  which  it  is  shown 
when  the  supply  pump  has  filled  the  cistern.  It  is  a  float  on 
the  water,  and  is  sometimes  called  a  telltale:  for  when  it 
shows  itself  above  the  top  of  the  cistern,  it  is  seen  to  bear  a 
label  in  pretty  large  letters,  "  Stop  the  pump."  The  wafered 
clause  over  the  paragraph  on  industry  and  economy,  is  a  tell 
tale.  It  says  that  the  copy-book  was  full,  and  that  there  was 
no  place  to  put  it  in  where  Washington  had  suggested  it  ought 


140  CANCELLED    PASSAGES    IN   AUTOGRAPH    COPY 

to  go,  but  by  wafering  it  over  the  not  so  indispensably  ne 
cessary  clause  in  regard  to  industry  and  economy ;  and  yet 
this  clause  was  eight  pages  distant  from  the  close  of  the  Ad 
dress.  This  is  not  demonstration,  certainly,  that  the  whole 
copy  was  made  before  the  cancellations  were  begun,  but  it  is 
an  inducement  or  persuasion  to  that  opinion. 

But  much  better  than  these  remarks  to  show  that  Wash 
ington  did  make  that  autograph  copy  from  the  revision  before 
he  altered  it,  is  the  existence  of  a  previous  draught  which  it 
closely  follows  in  paragraphs,  subjects,  language,  and  above 
all  in  the  order  of  place  or  position  of  every  part ;  which 
previous  draught  was  amended  and  revised  by  its  author  be 
fore  the  autograph  was  made,  and  was  so  written,  at  Wash 
ington's  instance,  as  to  be  readily  followed  in  a  copy  for  the 
press,  and  which  revision  was  in  Washington's  hands  before 
the  autograph  was  begun,  and  was  intended  to  revise  the 
previous  amended  draught, — not  to  alter  its  substance  or 
order,  nor  to  add  to  it  in  any  known  particular,  except  that 
which  the  wafered  paper  on  education  exhibits.  More  than 
finite  probabilities,  as  we  have  suggested,  show  that  the  ex 
emplar  was  in  that  paper, — the  revision ,  and  that  this  was 
the  model  from  which  the  autograph  was  first  written  in  ex- 
tenso,  and  then  altered  as  far  as  it  was  altered.  We  can, 
however,  confirm  and  add  to  these  probabilities,  by  con 
sidering  the  character  of  Washington's  alterations  of  the 
autograph  copy. 

The  ten  clauses  referred  to,  amounting  together  to  sixty 
lines  and  a  fraction  more,  which  have  been  restored  since  can 
cellation,  and  are  now  placed  at  the  foot  of  the  pages  in  the 
Appendix,  are  one  and  all  of  them,  in  point  of  origin,  derived 
from  Hamilton's  original  draught,  each  one  of  them  having 


DERIVED    FROM    HAMILTON'S    ORIGINAL    DRAUGHT.  141 

been  altered  verbally,  and  not  otherwise,  by  Hamilton's 
amended  copy,  or  revision,  as  we  have  a  right  to  infer, 
because  the  touch  of  Washington's  pen  does  not  appear  upon 
them,  except  in  the  two  words  on  page  366,  before  referred 
to.  All  these  clauses,  after  being  carried  into  the  autograph 
copy,  were  cancelled  in  the  places  where  Hamilton's  original 
draught  had  placed  them,  the  preceding  and  succeeding  para 
graphs  not  being  cancelled,  but  remaining  in  that  autograph 
copy  precisely  as  they  do  in  Hamilton's  draught.  It  maybe 
said  of  all  the  clauses  which  were  cancelled  by  Washington, 
that  they  are  not  surpassed  in  truth  or  pertinency  by  perhaps 
any  which  were  not  cancelled.  Some  of  them  were  founded 
upon  express  suggestion  by  Washington  in  his  preparatory 
draught ;  and  the  most  probable  motive  for  cancelling  any 
of  them, — such  of  them  at  least  as  gave  no  offence  to  his 
modesty, — was  to  abridge  the  length  of  the  Address.  The 
cancellation  of  one  of  them  appears  to  have  been  a  necessity, 
through  oversight,  because  his  copy-book  was  already  full, 
and  there  was  no  space  left  for  the  education  clause.  He  was 
therefore  compelled  to  wafer  it  over  the  clause  upon  frugality 
and  economy,  which  Washington  would  hardly  have  yielded 
to  anything  but  to  the  clause  upon  which  he  had  specially 
instructed  Hamilton.  The  cancelled  and  restored  para 
graphs,  which  were  derived  in  point  of  origin  from  Ham 
ilton's  original  draught,  may  be  seen  in  the  reprint  of  the 
autograph  copy,  in  the  Appendix  to  this  Inquiry,  where  the 
margin  opposite  to  each  paragraph  respectively,  refers  to  the 
page  of  Hamilton's  original  draught  in  the  same  Appendix, 
where  the  clause  of  origin  will  be  found  inclosed  within 
brackets. 

I  present  in  this  place,  as  an  illustration,  one  of  the  longest 


142 


INSTANCE  OF  ONE  OF  SUCH  PASSAGES. 


clauses  which  were  so  cancelled  in  the  autograph  copy,  and 
is  now  restored,  and  placed  at  the  foot  of  the  reprint,  in 
Mr.  Irving's  work,  in  pages  362,  363,  together  with  the 
corresponding  clause  in  Hamilton's  original  draught. 


RESTORED  PARAGRAPH  FROM 
AUTOGRAPH  COPY. 

Besides  the  more  serious  causes  al 
ready  hinted  as  threatening  our  Union, 
there  is  one  less  dangerous,  but  suffi 
ciently  dangerous  to  make  it  prudent  to 
be  upon  our  guard  against  it.  I  allude 
to  the  petulance  of  party  differences  of 
opinion.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear 
the  irritations  which,  these  excite  vent 
themselves  in  declarations  that  the  dif 
ferent  parts  of  the  United  States  are  ill- 
affected  to  each  other,  in  menaces  that 
the  Union  will  be  dissolved  by  this  or 
that  measure.  Intimations  like  these 
are  as  indiscreet  as  they  are  intempe 
rate.  Though  frequently  made  with  le 
vity,  and  without  any  really  evil  inten 
tion,  they  have  a  tendency  to  produce 
the  consequences  which  they  indicate. 
They  teach  the  minds  of  men  to  consider 
the  Union  as  precarious  : — as  an  object 
to  which  they  ought  not  to  attach  their 
hopes  and  fortunes  ; — and  thus  chill  the 
sentiment  in  its  favor.  By  alarming  the 
pride  of  those  to  whom  they  are  ad 
dressed,  they  set  ingenuity  at  work  to 
depreciate  the  value  of  the  thing,  and  to 
discover  reasons  of  indifference  towards 
it.  This  is  not  wise.  It  will  be  much 
wiser  to  habituate  ourselves  to  reverence 
the  Union  as  the  palladium  of  our  na 
tional  happiness ;  to  accommodate  our 


HAMILTONS  ORIGINAL 
DRAUGHT. 

Besides  the  more  serious  causes  which 
have  been  hinted  at,  as  endangering 
our  Union,  there  is  another  less  dan 
gerous,  but  against  which  it  is  necessary 
to  be  on  our  guard :  I  mean  the  petu 
lance  of  party  differences  of  opinion. 
It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  the  irrita 
tions  which  these  excite  vent  themselves 
in  declarations  that  the  different  parts  of 
the  Union  are  ill-assorted,  and  cannot 
remain  together — in  menaces  from  the 
inhabitants  of  one  part  to  those  of  ano 
ther,  that  it  will  be  dissolved  by  this  or 
that  measure.  Intimations  of  the  kind 
are  as  indiscreet  as  they  are  intempe 
rate.  Though  frequently  made  with  le 
vity,  and  without  being  in  earnest,  they 
have  a  tendency  to  produce  the  con 
sequence  which  they  indicate.  They 
teach  the  minds  of  men  to  consider  the 
Union  as  precarious,  as  an  object  to 
which  they  are  not  to  attach  their  hopes 
and  fortunes,  and  thus  weaken  the  sen 
timent  in  its  favor.  By  rousing  the 
resentment,  and  alarming  the  pride  of 
those  to  whom  they  are  addressed,  they 
set  ingenuity  to  work  to  depreciate  the 
value  of  the  object,  and  to  discover 
motives  of  indifference  to  it.  This  is 
not  wise.  Prudence  demands  that  we 
should  habituate  ourselves  in  all  our 


OTHER    PASSAGES    REFERRED    TO.  143 

words  and  actions  to  that  idea,  and  to  words  and  actions  to  reverence  the 
discountenance  whatever  may  suggest  a  Union  as  a  sacred  and  inviolable  pal- 
suspicion  that  it  can  in  any  event  be  ladium  of  our  happiness ;  and  should 
abandoned. — Irving's  Washington,  vol.  discountenance  whatever  can  lead  to  a 
v,  p.  362.  suspicion  that  it  can  in  any  event  be 

abandoned. — Hamilton's  Works,  vol.  vii, 

p.  581. 

These  altogether  verbal  differences  are  such  as  a  writer 
might  make  in  his  own  composition  when  amending  or  re 
vising  it ;  and  the  greater  part  of  them  at  least  are  such  as  no 
one  but  the  author  would  think  of.  If  this  paragraph  has 
been  accurately  restored  at  the  foot  of  the  reprint  of  the 
autograph  copy  in  Mr.  Irving's  Appendix,  Washington's  pen 
has  not  altered  a  word  of  it  before  he  cancelled  it. 

I  might  add  to  the  ten  clauses  referred  to,  another  clause, 
the  last  which  Washington  cancelled,  and  which  has  been 
restored  and  placed  at  the  foot  of  pages  376,  377.  It  stood 
the  last  in  the  Farewell  Address  until  it  was  cancelled,  and 
was  the  very  last  in  Hamilton's  original  draught ;  but  Wash 
ington  prepared  the  last  clause  now  standing  in  the  Farewell 
Address,  from  the  first  cancelled  clause  from  Hamilton's 
revision,  which  may  be  found  at  the  foot  of  page  357  of  Mr. 
Irving's  Appendix. 

The  two  other  clauses  which  I  distinguished  from  the  ten, 
to  make  my  remark  concerning  them  more  intelligible,  are 
to  be  found,  the  first  of  them  at  the  foot  of  page  360.  That 
clause  which,  for  the  reasons  already  given,  I  infer  to  have  been 
taken  from  Hamilton's  revision,  is  not  merely  a  verbal  altera 
tion  of  the  corresponding  clause  in  Hamilton's  original 
draught,  but  is  a  reconstruction  of  a  clause  of  that  draught, 
in  the  same  relative  place,  first  commenced  by  Hamilton  in 
his  amended  copy  sent  to  Washington  the  30th  July,  placed 


144          A    PARAGRAPH    RECONSTRUCTED    FROM    THE   REVISION. 

probably  in  the  same  state  in  his  correction  of  Washington's 
draught  sent  to  him  the  10th  August,  and  further  enlarged 
in  his  revision  sent  the  6th  September.  Washington  has 
struck  Hamilton's  revised  clause  from  the  end  of  a  paragraph, 
and  has  put  in  its  place  a  clause  almost  identical  with  it, 
omitting  but  a  single  line.  This  is  the  second  of  the  in 
stances,  so  far  as  I  have  discovered,  which  bear  upon  the 
inquiry  suggested  by  the  Preface  to  the  autograph  copy  in 
Mr.  Irving's  work,  whether  Washington  made  the  altera 
tions  in  his  autograph  "during  the  writing"  or  after  the 
entire  copy  was  made.  To  show  the  extent  of  the  change, 
the  clause  in  Hamilton's  original  draught,  enlarged  in  Ham 
ilton's  correction  of  Washington's  draught,  and  still  further 
extended  in  what  I  infer  to  be  Hamilton's  revision,  and  the 
clause  as  it  stands  in  the  Farewell  Address,  are  here  pre 
sented  in  parallel  columns. 

HAMILTON.  HAMILTON.  WASHINGTON. 

ORIGINAL  DRAUGHT  AND 

CORRECTION  OF  WASHING-  REVISION.  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 

TON'S  DRAUGHT. 

that  you  would  cherish  to-  that  you  should  cherish  to-  that  you  should  cherish  a 

wards    it   an    affectionate  wards  it  a  cordial  and  im-  cordial,  habitual,  and  im- 

and  inviolable  attachment,  movable  attachment ;  that  movable  attachment  to  it, 

and  that  you  should  watch  you  should  accustom  your-  accustoming  yourselves  to 

for   its   preservation   with  selves  to  reverence  it  as  the  think  and  speak  of  itas  the 

zealous  solicitude.  palladium    of  your    poli-  palladium  of  your  political 

tical  safety  and  prosperity,  safety  and  prosperity  *  * 

[Hamilton's  Amended  adapting  constantly  your 

Draught  of  Washington.]  words  and  actions  to  that 

momentous  idea  ;  that  you  watching  for  its  preserva- 

that  you  should  habituate  should  watch  for  its  pre-  tion  with  jealous  anxiety, 

yourselves    to    think   and  servation      with     zealous  discountenancing       what- 

speak  of  it  as  the  palladium  anxiety,      discountenance  ever  may  suggest  even  a 

of   your    prosperity,    and  whatever  may  suggest  or  suspicion  that  it  can  in  any 


THE    SAME    SUBJECT.  145 

should  frown  upon  what-     suspicion  that  it  can  in  any  event  be  abandoned,  and 

ever  may  lead  to  suspicion     event  be  abandoned,  and  indignantly  frowning  upon 

that  it  can  in  any  event  be     frown  upon  the  first  dawn-  the  first  dawning  of  every 

abandoned.                              ing  of  any  attempt  to  alien-  attempt    to    alienate   any 

ate    any    portion    of   our  portion  of  our  country  from 

country  from   the  rest,  or  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the 

to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  sacred  ties  which  now  link 

which   now  link   together  together  the  several  parts. 

the  several  parts. 

Of  course  such  an  alteration  as  this  does  not  affect  the 
question  of  authorship,  but  it  affects  the  secondary  question 
of  the  time  and  manner  of  Washington's  alteration.  If  the 
right  hand  paragraph  is  written  in  the  autograph  after  the 
middle  or  cancelled  paragraph,  and  not  by  interlineation,  then 
if  no  blank  space  had  been  left  for  it,  it  must  have  been 
done  when  the  autograph  was  in  the  course  of  being  written, 
and  not  after  it  had  been  completely  copied  in  the  order  of 
the  revision.  If  there  had  been  a  blank  space  left,  or  the 
new  paragraph  was  interlined,  then  the  opposite  consequence 
follows.  The  Preface  says  there  are  many  interlineations, 
but  does  not  indicate  them  distributively,  and  does  not  say 
whether  this  was  or  was  not  one  of  them.  It  is  a  point  of 
little  importance,  except  in  the  history  of  the  autograph. 

The  last  of  the  two  clauses  I  distinguished  from  the  ten, 
is  at  page  366 ;  and  it  is  quite  an  interesting  alteration,  and 
must  have  received  much  consideration  on  the  part  of  Wash 
ington.  We  shall  insert  here,  in  parallel  columns,  three 
clauses :  one  from  Hamilton's  original  draught  as  it  stands ; 
another,  as  we  infer,  from  Hamilton's  amended  copy,  or 
revision ;  and  in  a  third  column,  from  Washington's  auto 
graph,  the  passage  in  the  paragraph  which  Washington 
inserted  after  striking  out  a  part  of  the  paragraph  contained 
within  brackets  in  the  middle  column : — 

10 


146  ANOTHER    PARAGRAPH   REFORMED. 

HAMILTON.  HAMILTON.  WASHINGTON. 

ORIGINAL    DRAUGHT.  AMENDED  AND  REVISED.  AUTOGRAPH. 

And  remember  also,  that  And  remember  especial-  And  remember  especial- 
for  the  efficacious  manage-  ly,  that  for  the  efficient  ma-  ly,  that  for  the  efficient  ma- 
ment  of  your  common  in-  nagement  of  your  common  nagementof  your  common 
terests,  in  a  country  so  ex-  interests,  in  a  country  so  interests,  in  a  country  so 
tensive  as  ours,  a  govern-  extensive  as  ours,  a  gov-  extensive  as  ours,  a  gov- 
ment  of  as  much  force  and  ernment  of  as  much  vigor  ernment  of  as  much  vigor 
strength  as  is  consistent  as  is  consistent  with  the  as  is  consistent  Avith  the 
with  the  perfect  security  perfect  security  of  liberty,  perfect  security  of  liberty, 
of  liberty,  is  indispensable,  is  indispensable.  Liberty  is  indispensable.  Liberty 
Liberty  itself  will  find  in  itself  will  find  in  such  a  itself  will  find  in  such  ago- 
such  a  government,  with  government,  with  powers  vernment,  with  powers  pro- 
powers  properly  distribu-  properly  distributed  and  perly  distributed  and  ad- 
ted  and  arranged,  its  surest  adjusted,  its  surest  guar-  justed,  its  surest  guardian, 
guardian  and  protector. —  dian.  [Owing  to  you  as  I  [It  is  indeed  little  less  than 
[In  my  opinion,  the  real  do  a  frank  and  free  disclo-  a  name,  where  the  govern- 
danger  in  our  system  is,  sure  of  my  heart,  I  shall  ment  is  too  feeble  to  with- 
that  the  general  govern-  not  conceal  from  you  the  stand  the  enterprises  of 
ment,  organized  as  at  pre-  belief  I  entertain,  that  your  faction,  to  confine  each 
sent,  will  prove  too  weak  government,  as  at  present  member  of  the  society 
rather  than  too  powerful.]  constituted,  is  far  more  within  the  limits  prescrib- 
— Hamilton11  s  Works,  vol.  likely  to  prove  too  feeble  ed  by  the  laws,  and  to 
vii,  p.  584.  than  too  powerful.] — 5  Ir-  maintain  all  in  the  secure 
ving's  Washington,  366.  and  tranquil  enjoyment  of 
the  rights  of  person  and 
property.] — Ibid. 

Washington's  own  clause  within  brackets  in  the  right 
hand  column,  has  perhaps  some  advantages  in  point  of  ex 
pression  over  both  the  others.  It  implies  the  same  truth 
which  the  others  strongly  express ;  and  in  its  terms,  as  a 
conclusion  from  the  premises  just  before  stated,  it  is  an 
equally  explicit  truth ;  while  it  keeps  back  the  declaration 
of  an  abstract  opinion,  which  might  have  been  misunderstood 
by  reason  of  its  generality,  and  extensively  perverted  by 


ALLUSION    TO    THE    FEEBLENESS    OF    THE    CONSTITUTION.        147 

misapplication.  It  gives  out,  at  the  same  time,  a  definite 
opinion  in  favor  of  a  government  of  more  strength,  by  illus 
trations  which  few  would  refuse  to  receive  as  evidences  of 
constitutional  weakness,  and  which  was  felt  in  some  of  the 
trying  periods  of  Washington's  administration. 

This  is  the  clause  in  which,  I  suppose,  Washington  meant 
to  express,  or  at  least  to  include,  his  dissent  from  what  is 
now  the  principle  of  State  rights, — that  the  only  constitu 
tional  powers  of  the  United  States  are  such  as  are  expressly 
given  in  the  Constitution,  or  are  necessarily  implied  from 
those  which  are  expressly  given ;  a  principle  which,  in  re 
gard  to  the  Constitution  of  a  Nation,  the  Supreme  power  of 
the  Union,  one  of  the  co-equal  powers  of  the  world,  would 
seem  to  be  more  reasonably  applied  to  the  restraints  which 
are  expressed  in  it,  than  to  the  powers  themselves.  In 
regard  to  three  great  examples  under  the  treaty-making 
power,  the  acquisitions  of  Louisiana  and  of  parts  of  Mexico, 
and  the  boundary  treaty  with  England,  the  principle  of 
express  power,  or  necessary  implication,  seems  to  have  had 
but  little  play  in  abridging  the  fairly  implied  powers  of  the 
Constitution.  The  main  effect  of  that  principle  upon  internal 
legislation,  seems  hitherto  to  have  been  felt,  and,  probably, 
will  always  be  most  sensibly  felt,  in  the  generation  of  par 
ties,  which  will  make  a  feeble  government,  whatever  the 
Constitution  may  have  intended.  If  it  succeeds  finally  and 
completely,  it  will  look  very  much  like  what,  in  early  times, 
would  have  been  called  an  anti-Federal  triumph  after  a 
Federal  victory,  which  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  by 
the  States  was  acknowledged  by  all  parties  to  have  been. 

The  remaining  instances  of  interposed  new  paragraphs  by 
Washington  call  for  little  remark.  The  three  paragraphs 


148        OTHER  ALTERATIONS  IN  AUTOGRAPH  COPY. 

upon  the  right,  the  duty,  and  the  inducements  of  interest,  to 
issue  and  maintain  the  proclamation  of  neutrality,  are,  one 
of  them  probably,  an  alteration  of  Hamilton's  revision ;  and 
the  other  two,  perhaps,  are  Washington's,  though  this  is  not 
clear.  Neither  of  the  three  was  in  Hamilton's  original 
draught,  though  a  blank  space  was  left  in  that  part,  which 
Hamilton  possibly  filled  up  in  his  amended  copy,  or  in  his 
revision ;  but,  in  the  autograph,  Washington  wrote  out 
the  first  paragraph,  and,  from  a  certain  point,  cancelled 
it,  and  interlined  several  lines.  He  then  wrote,  on  a 
separate  piece  of  paper,  a  paragraph  in  substitution  of  the 
whole,  —  having,  nevertheless,  the  same  substance,  and 
wafered  it  over  both  the  original  and  the  interlined 
words,  —  making  a  note  on  the  margin  in  these  words : 
"  This  is  the  first  draught,  and  it  is  questionable  which  of 
"  the  two  is  to  be  preferred."  Of  course,  this  wafering  must 
have  occurred  after  the  entire  address  had  been  copied.  If 
this  is  written  on  the  margin  of  the  wafered  paper,  the  first 
draught  was  probably  Hamilton's ;  but,  if  it  was  written  on 
the  margin  of  the  copy-book,  I  am  at  fault.  The  other  two, 
which  have  not  been  altered  in  any  respect,  may  have  been 
written  by  either;  but  the  good  old  Doric  phrase,  "humanly 
speaking,"  in  the  last  of  the  three,  is  more  like  Washington 
than  Hamilton. 

The  penultimate  clause  of  the  draught  before  him,  which 
Washington  has  cancelled,  he  has  excluded  as  having  "  the 
"  appearance  of  self-distrust  and  mere  vanity ;"  as,  for  a  like 
reason,  he  had  obliterated  a  preceding  one,  "  to  avoid  the 
"  imputation  of  affected  modesty."  Such  alterations  might 
be  thought  to  prove  that  Washington  was  revising  what 
another  had  indited,  and  not  what  he  had  composed  himself. 


SAME    SUBJECT.  149 

But  the  concluding  pages  of  Washington's  own  draught, 
which  may  be  seen  in  the  Appendix,  have  satisfied  me  that 
this  is  not  decisive. 

This  penultimate  clause  of  the  draught,  as  it  has  been 
restored  and  placed  at  the  foot  of  the  page  in  Mr.  Irving's 
Appendix,  has  not  been  altered  in  a  single  word ;  but  a  por 
tion  of  it  has  been  carried  into  the  last  paragraph  of  Wash 
ington's  Farewell  Address,  which  was  probably  written  by 
himself,  and  is  a  substitute  for  the  last  paragraph  in  Hamil 
ton's  original  draught.  Hamilton  himself,  perhaps,  threw 
the  two  last  paragraphs  of  the  original  draught  into  one,  of 
which  Washington  has  taken  a  part  and  rejected  a  part,  and, 
adopting  one  thought  from  the  rejected  part,  has  made  a 
final  paragraph  for  .himself.  The  concluding  part  of  Wash 
ington's  own  draught  supplied  a  portion  of  these  thoughts. 
In  these  minute  particulars,  the  criticisms  must  be  received 
as  conjectural,  especially  as  the  original  autograph  is  not 
now  before  me. 

The  alterations  in  the  body  of  the  printed  copy  of  the 
autograph,  not  noticed  in  the  preceding  remarks,  are  gene 
rally  verbal,  striking  out  a  word  or  two,  and  putting  in  one 
or  two  others.  In  the  twenty-one  pages  of  Mr.  Irving's 
reprint,  there  are  five  several  pages,  in  three  of  which  there 
is  no  such  alteration ;  in  another  of  them,  three  words,  and, 
in  the  other,  two  are  struck  out,  and  different,  but  equiva 
lent,  words  substituted.  On  the  other  pages  there  are  more 
of  them,  as  the  for  a,  against  for  /row,  customary  for  usual, 
sparingly  for  little,  shunning  for  avoiding,  permanent,  invete 
rate  for  rooted,  an  for  a,  to  lessen  the  aspirate  in  habitual, 
and  others  of  like  kind,  not  always  to  the  improvement 
of  the  language  ;  and,  at  least,  in  one  instance,  to  the 


150  SAME  SUBJECT  CONTINUED. 

effect  of  making  public  opinion  co-operate  in  the  discharge 
of  public  debts,  instead  of  coinciding  with  it,  which  was 
Hamilton's  word  and  meaning.  The  pages  untouched  by 
Washington's  pen  in  this  manner,  I  presume  to  be  Hamil 
ton's  original  draught,  corrected,  amended,  and  revised  by 
Hamilton  himself.  The  remaining  pages  I  suppose  to  be 
the  same  revision,  altered  verbally,  just  as  Washington 
appears  to  have  altered  them  in  his  autograph  copy,  and  no 
further. 

If  this  has  not  been  demonstrated  in  an  absolute  sense, 
the  proof  falls  short  of  it  only  by  the  absence  of  Hamilton's 
revision, — the  original  draught,  however,  so  far  supplying 
its  place,  that  no  living  man,  nor  all  the  men  upon  earth 
combined,  could  have  written  such  a  paper  as  Washington's 
Farewell  Address,  without  the  guidance  of  that  original 
draught,  or  of  a  draught  made  from  it,  with  just  such  verbal 
corrections  of  the  original  as  we  know  came  into  Washing 
ton's  hands  before  the  autograph  copy  was  made.  If  this  is 
not  the  highest  degree  of  argumental  evidence,  it  is  the  next 
door  to  it,  and  is  the  highest  practical  proof. 

Mr.  Sparks's  view  of  these  alterations  has,  no  doubt,  been 
affected  by  his  not  being  aware,  at  that  time,  of  the  exist 
ence  of  Hamilton's  original  draught,  and,  in  some  degree 
also,  by  Mr.  Jay's  opinion  of  the  extent  of  Hamilton's  work 
in  the  Farewell  Address.  But  Mr.  Jay  was  under  a  denser 
cloud  than  Mr.  Sparks;  and  the  imperfect  light  that  Mr. 
Jay  followed  was  moreover  a  deceptive  light.  So  it  appears 
to  me ;  and  Mr.  Jay  has  contributed,  unintentionally,  much 
more  than  Mr.  Sparks,  to  turn  the  eyes  of  impartial  men 
from  the  consideration  of  the  evidence,  as  it  has  from  time 
to  time,  subsequently,  appeared ;  though  the  death  of  Mr. 


MR.    JAY'S    OPINION    THAT    THE    ADDRESS    WAS    PERSONAL,     151 

Jay,  in  1829,  before  the  publication  of  Hamilton's  draught, 
and  Washington's  letters  to  Hamilton,  probably  prevented 
its  having  appeared  to  him. 

It  is  very  singular,  that  so  harmless  an  inquiry  as  the 
question  of  the  authorship  of  the  Farewell  Address,  which 
Mr.  Jay's  letter  first  noticed  in  a  formal  examination  in 
1811,  and  which  Mr.  Sparks  considered,  upon  other  grounds, 
in  1837,  the  year  in  which  his  edition  of  Washington's 
Writings  was  completed,  should  have  been  inseparably 
blended,  from  the  first  of  these  dates, — the  purport  of  Mr. 
Jay's  letter  having  been  known,  though  not  published 
by  his  son  until  1833, — with  considerations  that  affected 
the  honor  of  Hamilton  on  the  one  side,  and  the  delicacy  of 
Washington  on  the  other ; — Hamilton,  as  having  preserved 
a  draught  which  he  ought  to  have  destroyed,  and  Wash 
ington,  as  having  retained  the  reputation  of  a  higher  finish 
in  this  work  than  in  his  letters  (this  is  Mr.  Jay's  language), 
although  it  was  not  his  own.  These  considerations  resulted, 
directly  or  reflectively,  from  Mr.  Jay's  very  strongly  ex 
pressed  opinion  that  the  Farewell  Address  was  a  personal 
act,  and  that  Washington  only  could  witli  propriety  write  it. 
He  might,  Mr.  Jay  admits,  have  naturally  submitted  his 
composition  to  the  judgment  of  friends,  before  he  put  the 
last  hand  to  it.  They  might  have  advised  certain  transpo 
sitions  ;  "if  the  connection  between  any  of  the  relative 
"  parts  was  obscure,  they  would  make  it  more  apparent ;  if 
"  a  conclusion  had  better  be  left  to  implication  than  ex- 
"  pressed,  they  would  strike  it  out,  and  so  vice  versa  ;  if  an 
"  additional  remark  or  allusion  would  give  force  or  light  to 
"  a  sentiment  or  proposition,  they  would  propose  it ;  where 
"  a  sentence  was  too  long,  they  would  divide  it ;  they  would 


152  AND    OF   THE    EXTENT   TO   WHICH   WASHINGTON 

"  correct  redundancies ;  change  words  less  apt,  for  words 
"  more  apt,  &c.  &c.  &c.  To  correct  a  composition  in  this 
"  way,  is  to  do  a  friendly  office ;  but  to  prepare  a  new  one, 
"  and  offer  it  to  the  author  as  a  substitute  for  his  own, 
"  would  deserve  a  different  appellation."  Joys  Life,  vol.  ii, 
page  343. 

This  distinction,  in  itself  a  rather  shadowy  one,  was  not 
in  Washington's  mind  at  all.  He  submitted  thoughts  and 
principles  as  heads  or  points  in  the  Farewell  Address  to  Mr. 
Madison,  and  asked  him  to  write  it  out  from  beginning  to  end  ; 
and  Mr.  Madison  did  so.  He  asked  Hamilton  to  correct 
and  amend  the  preparatory  draught,  which  constituted  the 
preserved  paper,  made  partly  of  Madison's  draught  and 
partly  of  his  own  composition,  but  gave  Hamilton  plain 
authority,  if  he  did  not  by  implication  invite  him,  to  put  the 
sentiments  of  the  preserved  paper  into  a  new  plan  and  in  a 
different  form.  Washington's  opinion  was  demons trably 
different  on  this  head,  from  Mr.  Jay's.  He  asked  assistance 
in  what  Mr.  Jay  regarded  the  exceptionable  form,  from  Mr. 
Madison,  and  he  opened  the  door  to  it  widely  for  Hamilton. 
He  made  no  secret  to  one  of  the  two  eminent  men,  that  he 
had  asked  and  obtained  it  from  the  other ;  and  he  meant  by 
the  preserved  paper,  his  preparatory  draught,  to  bring  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  world  the  privity  of  Madison  with  a  por 
tion  of  that  draught,  being  quite  indifferent  to  the  opinion 
they  might  form  of  the  degree  to  which  that  privity  had 
extended. 

Mr.  Jay  moreover  distinguished  betweeen  an  official  paper 
and  the  Farewell  Address ;  but  Washington  made  no  such 
distinction.  Mr.  Jay  distinguished  between  cases  in  which 
a  secretary  of  the  proper  department  might  prepare  a  paper, 


MIGHT    PROPERLY   ASK   ASSISTANCE.  153 

and  the  President  sign  it,  from  cases  in  which  Washington 
alone  should  prepare  the  paper  and  sign ;  but  Washington 
did  not  observe  this  distinction  in  regard  to  executive 
speeches  or  messages  to  Congress, — the  most  striking  of  his 
public  papers.  He  made  no  secret  of  asking  assistance  in 
his  speeches  to  Congress,  and  asked  it  of  Madison,  who  was 
never  in  the  cabinet  until  after  Washington  had  retired  from 
office,  and  of  Hamilton,  after  he  had  left  Washington's 
cabinet  to  return  to  the  profession  of  the  law.  Mr.  Jay's 
distinction  was  the  formal  but  perfectly  unlimited  one,  be 
tween  writing  an  address,  and  correcting  or  amending  it 
after  it  was  written.  Washington's  better  distinction  was 
the  substantial  one,  between  contributing  the  fundamental 
or  leading  thoughts  of  a  public  paper,  which  it  was  essential 
to  him  should  be  his  own,  and  the  almost  arbitrary  forms  of 
expressing  them,  which  he  had  no  hesitation  in  committing 
to  the  skill  of  a  trusted  friend.  I  do  not  speak  of  his  ge 
neral  practice  or  habits,  but  of  the  distinctions  in  his  mind. 
In  fine,  though  Mr.  Jay  was  very  able  to  measure  Washing 
ton  in  some  of  his  largest  dimensions,  he  does  not  seem  in 
his  letter  to  Judge  Peters  to  have  measured  him  accurately 
in  the  largest  of  them  all, — the  dimensions  of  that  extraor 
dinary  judgment,  which  suppressed  all  personal  vanity  in 
himself,  if  he  ever  had  any,  estimated  with  perfect  good  sense 
and  wisdom  all  the  real  values  that  were  in  him  or  around 
him,  neither  being  misled  nor  misleading  anybody  by  pre 
tensions  of  any  kind,  and  seeking  truth  and  the  best  forms  of 
communicating  it,  from  the  friend  who  could  best  impart  them 
to  him,  for  the  benefit  of  the  country.  He  was  undoubtedly 
modest ;  but  it  is  certain  that  he  never  fell  short  of  his  duty 
or  the  expectations  of  the  country  by  his  modesty ;  and  it  is 


154  EFFECT    OF    MR.    JAY'S    VIEW. 

also  certain,  that  if  every  line  of  his  pen  in  his  communica 
tions  to  Congress  or  to  the  people  was  traced  to  some  other 
person,  it  would  not  abate  his  glory,  or  the  honor  and  love 
of  this  people,  a  single  iota.  If  his  great  modesty  has  con 
tributed  to  the  lustre  of  his  immense  elevation,  as  it  un 
doubtedly  has,  it  will  be  difficult  to  prove  that  he  had  too 
much  of  it. 

All  the  prejudices  which  have  existed  in  regard  to  the 
authorship  of  the  Farewell  Address,  seem  to  have  proceeded 
from  jealousy  of  Hamilton,  or  from  this  hypothesis  of  Mr. 
Jay ;  but  how  entirely  Mr.  Jay's  imperfect  information  led 
him  into  the  adoption  and  statement  of  it,  may  easily  be 
made  obvious. 

Judge  Peters's  letter  had  conveyed  to  Mr.  Jay  "  the  first 
and  only  information"  he  had  received,  "  that  a  copy  of  Pre 
sident  Washington's  Address  had  been  found  among  the 
papers  of  General  Hamilton,  and  in  his  handwriting,  and 
that  a  certain  gentleman  had  also  a  copy  of  it  in  the  same 
handwriting."  Of  course  it  would  be  assumed  by  some  per 
sons,  that  Hamilton  had  made  two  copies  of  the  Farewell 
Address,  and  had  kept  one,  and  given  away  another,  to  fur 
nish  the  future  proof  of  his  authorship.  It  was  upon  this 
hint,  and  possibly,  though  not  certainly,  with  something  like 
this  interpretation  of  it,  that  Mr.  Jay  wrote  his  reply  to 
Judge  Peters,  of  the  29th  March,  1811,  which  appears  in 
the  work  of  Mr.  Jay's  son. 

Every  man  of  experience  must  be  aware  of  this  truth — 
and  the  writer  of  this  Inquiry  hopes,  that  wherever  his  in 
ferences  from  evidence  may  call  for  its  application,  he  will 
be  regarded  as  having  a  full  consciousness  of  it — that  if  an 

o  o 

observer  of  half  a  truth  proceeds  incautiously  to  infer  the 


EFFECT    OF    MB.    JAY'S    VIEW.  155 

whole  truth  from  it,  the  half  truth  is  just  as  likely  to  lead 
him  wrong  as  right,  and  that  half  a  fact  is  even  more  so. 

We  now  know  that  General  Hamilton  left  no  copy  of  the 
Farewell  Address  in  his  handwriting,  but  only  his  original 
rough  draught  of  such  an  address,  which  was  found  among 
his  papers,  and  is  now  in  the  Department  of  State;  that 
there  was  a  corrected  copy  and  revision  of  that  original 
draught,  also  in  his  handwriting,  which  he  sent  to  Wash 
ington,  and  which  did  not  come  back.  In  all  probability, 
therefore,  it  remained  among  Washington's  papers,  on  the 
same  subject,  until  his  death ;  and  therefore,  if  any  person 
had  in  his  hands  another  paper  which  purported  to  be  a 
copy  of  the  Farewell  Address,  and  was  in  Hamilton's  hand 
writing,  it  was  this  corrected  and  revised  copy  of  the  origi 
nal  draught. 

It  must  have  been  obtained  consequently  from  Washing 
ton's  papers,  and  from  this  source  only ;  and  those  only,  who 
had  the  custody  of  Washington's  papers  at  and  after  the 
time  of  his  death,  can  be  called  upon  to  explain  the  circum 
stance,  if  it  be  true. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  name  of  the  certain  person 
who  possessed  another  copy  was  not  disclosed,  possibly  not 
by  Judge  Peters,  certainly  not  by  Mr.  Jay  in  his  reply ;  and 
this  gave  an  air  of  mystery  to  the  circumstance ;  and  the 
odium  of  that  mystery,  whatever  it  was,  was  reflected  upon 
General  Hamilton,  as  is  made  obvious  by  Mr.  Jay's  letter. 
And  it  thus  happened  that,  in  complete  ignorance  of  every 
fact  in  the  case,  except  one,  and  that  a  misleading  fact,  that 
Hamilton  had  read  to  Jay  Washington's  draught,  "  written 
"  over  with  such  amendments,  alterations,  and  corrections,"  as 
Hamilton  thought  advisable,  Mr.  Jay  proceeded  to  make 


156  MR.  JAY'S  IMPERFECT  KNOWLEDGE  OF  FACTS. 

out  what  may  be  called  a  record,  for  posterity.  Unfortu 
nately,  it  was  worse  than  labor  lost,  for  it  was  labor  unin 
tentionally  productive  of  evil.  No  man  would  regret  it  more 
than  Mr.  Jay  himself,  if  he  were  living. 

Mr.  Jay,  at  that  time,  and,  doubtless,  to  the  end  of  his 
life,  was  wholly  ignorant  of  the  following  most  material 
facts,  which  have  been  already  exhibited  to  the  reader :  1 . 
That  Washington  had  written  a  long  and  explicit  letter  to 
Mr.  Madison,  on  the  20th  May,  1792,  requesting  him,  at 
that  time,  to  write  a  Farewell  Address,  if  he  approved  the 
measure,  and  making  large  suggestions  to  him  on  the  sub 
ject.  2.  That  Madison  had  replied  to  that  letter,  on  the 
20th  June,  1792,  and  sent  to  Washington  a  draught,  con 
taining  those  expressions  in  regard  to  Washington's  "  very 
"  fallible  judgment,"  and  "  the  inferiority  of  his  qualifica- 
"  tions,"  which  strike  everybody  who  reads  the  Farewell 
Address,  and  irresistibly  impressed  Mr.  Jay  with  the 
belief,  that  no  man  could  have  written  an  address  which 
contained  those  words,  except  Washington  himself.  3.  That 
Washington  had  applied  to  Hamilton  personally,  in  the 
spring  of  1796,  to  "  redress"  the  draught  which  Washington 
himself  had  prepared;  and  that,  on  the  15th  May  of  that 
year,  he  wrote  to  Hamilton,  sending  him  the  paper,  and 
requesting  to  correct  it,  and  giving  him  also  authority  to 
write  it  over  anew  upon  the  plan  he  thought  best,  founding 
it  upon  the  sentiments  contained  in  Washington's  paper ; 
and  that  Hamilton  had  executed  the  last  power  referred  to, 
before  his  interview  with  Jay, — the  execution  of  that  power 
being  a  matter  which  concerned  Hamilton  alone  until  Wash 
ington  should  approve  it,  and  which  Hamilton  thought 
proper  to  submit  to  Washington  only.  4.  That  Hamilton, 


HIS    KNOWLEDGE    OF   THE    CASE,    LIMITED    TO    ONE    FACT.       157 

before  his  interview  with  Jay,  had  already,  on  the  30th  July, 
sent  to  Washington  that  new  form  of  a  Farewell  Address ; 
and,  in  the  letter  which  inclosed  it,  promised  to  send  him, 
in  a  fortnight,  Washington's  own  draught,  corrected  upon 
the  general  plan  of  it.  5.  That  the  matter  upon  which  he, 
Mr.  Jay,  was  consulted,  on  behalf  of  Washington  by  Hamil 
ton,  was  only  one  of  the  objects  of  Washington's  letter  of  the 
15th  May,  this  correction  of  Washington's  draught,  and 
did  not  comprehend  the  other — the  writing  it  over  anew — 
upon  the  plan  Hamilton  should  think  best. 

If  Mr.  Jay  had  known  these  several  matters,  he  would 
have  had  an  outline  of  all  the  heads  of  material  facts  up  to 
the  time  of  his  interview  with  Hamilton.  But  he  was  not 
aware  of  any  one  of  them ;  nor  was  it  necessary  that  he 
should  be,  to  enable  him  to  assist  in  the  correction  or  amend 
ment  of  Washington's  draught,  which  was  an  entirely  sepa 
rate  and  independent  matter.  Nevertheless,  in  this  imper 
fect  state  of  his  knowledge  or  information, — perfect  enough 
for  the  performance  of  the  office  Mr.  Jay  was  asked  to  per 
form  in  Washington's  behalf, — but  wholly  insufficient  to 
enlighten  him  in  regard  to  Hamilton's  draught,  or  to  Wash 
ington's  previous  communications  with  Madison,  Mr.  Jay 
proceeded  to  express  a  definite  opinion  upon  the  whole  mat 
ter  of  the  authorship  of  the  Farewell  Address.  1.  He  gave 
an  explicit  opinion  upon  the  general  proposition,  that  the 
Farewell  Address  was  a  personal  act  of  Washington,  and 
that  nobody  else  could,  with  propriety,  be  its  author.  2. 
That  it  was  not  likely  that  Hamilton,  or  any  other  person 
but  Washington,  was  the  author,  because  Washington  was 
perfectly  able  to  write  it  himself.  3.  That  if  it  was  "  pos- 
"  sible  to  find  a  man  among  those  whom  Washington  es- 


158  EXCUSE    FOR    MR.    JAY'S    IMPRESSION. 

"  teemed,  capable  of  offering  him  such  a  present '"'  as  an 
address,  which  contained  what  the  Farewell  Address  does 
contain, — the  broadest  avowals  of  his  very  fallible  judgment, 
and  the  inferiority  of  his  qualifications, — "  it  was  impossible 
"  to  believe  that  President  Washington  was  the  man  to 
"  whom  such  a  present  would  be  acceptable." 

The  presumptive  internal  evidence  from  the  Farewell  Ad 
dress,  combined  with  that  of  Washington's  ability,  which 
Mr.  Jay  argues  at  large  in  his  letter,  and  very  well,  and  the 
direct  evidence  arising  from  that  interview  with  Hamilton, 
therefore  resulted  to  impress  Mr.  Jay's  mind  with  the  con 
viction,  most  necessarily  implied  by  his  whole  letter,  though 
not,  I  believe,  anywhere  in  it  expressly  stated,  that  Wash 
ington  was  the  sole  author  of  the  Farewell  Address,  such 
corrections  or  amendments  of  it  only  excepted  as  Hamilton 
had  read  in  that  interview,  and  some  of  little  importance, 
which  had  been  made  by  both  the  parties  in  the  course  of  it. 
But  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  add  that,  considering  the  lapse 
of  time  between  the  date  of  that  interview,  in  1796,  and  Mr. 
Jay's  letter,  in  1811,  there  is  a  very  reasonable  excuse  for 
Mr.  Jay's  regarding  the  corrections  and  emendations  of 
Washington's  draught  by  Hamilton,  as  having  gone  into  the 
published  Farewell  Address ;  because  almost  all  the  correc 
tions  of  Washington's  draught  contain  the  same  thoughts, 
expressed  in  nearly  the  same  language,  as  in  Hamilton's 
original  draught,  and  most  probably  in  the  amended  copy 
Hamilton  sent  to  Washington.  I  am  very  happy  to  suppose 
that  these  important  passages  in  the  published  Farewell 
Address,  contributed  to  recall  the  corrections  or  emendations 
of  Washington's  draught,  which  Hamilton  had  read  to  him, 
and  to  strengthen  Mr.  Jay's  belief  that  the  Farewell  Ad- 


MR.    JAY'S    WISDOM   AND    PURITY.  159 

dress  was  identically  Washington's  draught  corrected  by 
Hamilton.  But  in  volume  as  well  as  plan,  the  original 
draught  of  Hamilton,  and  the  corrected  draught  of  Wash 
ington,  were  entirely  unlike ;  and  some  long  passages  which 
Hamilton  may  have  left  in  the  corrected  draught  of  Wash 
ington,  are  excluded  altogether  from  his  own,  particularly 
those  on  the  subject  of  political  calumny  and  party  abuse, 
which  squared  better  with  parts  of  Washington's  plan  than 
they  did  with  his  own,  and  which  are  therefore  excluded 
from  it. 

There  were  few  wiser  men  in  this  country,  and  no  purer 
man  anywhere,  than  John  Jay.  There  is  a  halo  round  his 
venerable  head,  which  we  recollect,  that  makes  it  exceed 
ingly  painful  to  represent  him  as  having  erred  so  capitally 
in  his  conclusions,  from  the  partial  evidence  before  him; 
especially  as  his  professional  astuteness,  and  the  wariness  of 
his  judgment,  in  judicial  or  quasi-judicial  cases  of  import 
ance,  was  one  of  his  eminent  characteristics.  Something, 
perhaps,  in  Judge  Peters's  letter  to  Mr.  Jay  may  have 
tended  to  narrow  the  scope  of  his  inquiry,  or  a  little  to 
surprise  his  accurate  judgment  in  this  matter:  but  I  have 
looked  in  vain  to  the  Life  of  Mr.  Jay  by  his  son,  and  else 
where,  for  further  elucidation  of  the  subject. 

It  is  from  this  letter,  perhaps, — probably  from  Judge 
Peters's  exhibition  of  it,  or  repetition  of  its  contents,  at  a 
day  several  years  before  the  publication  of  Mr.  Jay's  Life 
by  his  son, — that  has  arisen  the  uncomfortable  feeling  I 
have  adverted  to,  in  regard  to  the  authorship  of  the  Fare 
well  Address,  and  with  it  the  opinion  or  sentiment  of  Mr. 
Sparks,  that  in  some  way  it  concerned  the  honor  of  Ham 
ilton,  to  destroy  all  traces  of  his  connection  with  it. 


160    HAMILTON'S  COURSE  IN  REGARD  TO  HIS  ROUGH  ORIGINALS. 

There  is  not  the  least  evidence  in  the  world  that  the  obli 
teration  of  snch  traces  ever  entered  into  the  heart  or  mind 
of  Washington;  and  no  man  of  understanding  who  shall 
carry  or  trace  back  such  a  thought  to  its  root  or  principle, 
can  fail  to  perceive  that  it  will  infer  a  weakness  in  Wash 
ington,  that  is  out  of  keeping  with  his  whole  life,  and  with 
the  explicit  language  of  the  Farewell  Address  itself. 

Hamilton  appears  to  have  preserved  the  abstract  and 
original  rough  draught,  because  there  was  no  motive  to 
destroy  them.  He  could  not  have  destroyed  them  with  the 
supposed  motive,  without  feeling  his  own  respect  for  Wash 
ington  in  some  degree  impaired  by  the  motive.  He  kept 
them,  as  he  kept  the  original  draughts  of  some  of  the  clauses 
he  had  prepared  for  Washington's  speeches,  as  a  record  of 
his  own  sentiments,  and  as  a  part  of  the  transactions  of  his 
political  life.  He  kept  no  copy  of  his  corrections  of  Wash 
ington's  draught,  nor  of  the  amended  copy  of  his  own 
draught,  nor  of  the  revision  of  that  draught,  nor  of  any  of 
his  letters  to  Washington  on  this  subject,  nor  indeed  of  any 
thing  in  regard  to  it,  for  the  two  papers  he  left  behind  him  were 
not  copies,  but  the  rough  originals.  This  was  all  that  Ham 
ilton  did.  He  did  not  destroy  them ;  that  is  all.  Privacy  at 
the  time  was  material,  as  the  correspondence  shows,  because 
the  purpose  of  Washington  to  retire,  was  intended  to  be  held 
in  reserve,  for  public  reasons,  until  the  last  moment.  Ham 
ilton  expressly  advised  him  to  this  effect.  It  is  from  this 
cause,  perhaps,  that  no  more  copies  were  taken.  Hamilton's 
own  engagements  and  want  of  health  prevented  his  making 
them,  and  the  employment  of  a  clerk  would  have  endangered 
a  disclosure  of  Washington's  purpose.  The  originals  of 
Washington's  letters  he  preserved,  as  he  probably  did  or 


HAMILTON'S  RESERVE  AS  TO  HIS  DRAUGHT.  161 

ought  to  have  done,  all  that  had  ever  been  addressed  to  him 
by  that  venerated  hand.  And  this  was  the  extent  of  his 
provision.  After  Hamilton's  lamented  death, — I  place  im 
plicit  confidence  in  the  family  tradition — it  was  not  any  of 
his  family  who  discovered  the  rough  original  draught,  but  it 
was  an  eminent  public  man,  to  whom  access  to  Hamilton's 
political  papers  was  allowed,  and  who  found  it  in  one  of 
the  pigeon-holes  of  his  cabinet.  And  thus  it  came  to  the 
world. 

Such  reserve  and  delicacy  as  Hamilton  observed  in  regard 
to  the  assistance,  Washington  may  have  expected,  and  it  is 
commonly  expected  in  like  cases.  He  may  have  expected, 
that,  for  the  time  then  present,  and  perhaps  while  he  was 
living,  publication  would  not  afford  occasion  of  gossip  or 
invidious  party  criticism,  and  become  an  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  party  to  weaken  the  influence  of  his  counsels,  by 
attributing  them  to  the  management  of  others ;  which,  those 
who  lived  in  that  day  may  remember,  there  were  men  enough, 
high  and  low,  well  disposed  to  insinuate,  without  any  proof 
or  shadow  of  proof.  A  reserve  of  this  kind  may  have  been 
patriotically  desirable,  without  the  least  infusion  of  vanity ; 
and  something  of  this  nature  may  constitute  the  true  limita 
tion  of  reserve  in  all  cases  of  like  assistance  by  a  minister  or 
friend  to  a  public  chief,  expressing  his  sentiments  in  his  own 
name,  whether  officially  or  unofficially,  to  any  part  of  the 
country,  or  to  the  people  at  large.  I  cannot,  I  think,  be 
mistaken  in  the  sentiment,  that  if  Washington  had  desired 
more  than  this,  it  would  have  been  a  weakness ;  and  that  if 
Hamilton  had  practised  more  than  this,  it  would  have  been 
a  derogatory  suspicion.  To  annex  the  pains  of  dishonor  to 
the  preservation  of  a  paper  by  the  assisting  party,  would  not 

11 


162       WASHINGTON'S  PRESERVATION  OF  ALL  THE  PAPERS 

only  in  this  case  misconceive  the  views  of  the  party  assisted, 
as  they  will  immediately  appear,  but  would  in  all  cases 
encircle  the  office  of  a  friend  with  thorns,  which  might  fatally 
wound  his  character,  whether  a  paper  was  accidentally  or 
intentionally  preserved  by  him ;  and  would  end  in  depriving 
all  public  chiefs  of  such  aid,  by  surrounding  it  with  insuffer 
able  penalties.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  general 
rule  or  principle,  however,  Washington's  own  course  demon 
strates  infallibly  the  existence  of  an  exception  in  this  case, 
which  he  was  competent  to  establish,  and  did  establish,  com 
prehending  and  justifying  the  course  of  Hamilton,  whether 
it  was  accidental  or  intentional.  And  this  is  shown  by  a 
species  of  evidence  quite  irresistible. 

Washington  preserved  copies  and  originals  of  all  the 
papers  and  correspondence,  on  the  subject  of  the  Farewell 
Address,  from  his  first  application  to  Mr.  Madison,  in  1792, 
down  to  the  publication  of  that  Address,  in  1796. 

He  preserved  a  copy  of  his  letter  to  Mr.  Madison,  and 
the  original  of  Madison's  letter  of  20th  June,  1792,  in  reply. 
Either  Washington  preserved  them,  or  Madison  the  counter 
parts,  the  original  of  Washington's  letter,  and  a  copy  of  the 
reply ;  for  it  is  only  from  one  or  both  of  these  sources  that 
Mr.  Sparks  can  have  obtained  them  for  his  paper  on  the 
Farewell  Address.  Washington  preserved  the  original  of 
Madison's  draught,  the  original  of  his  own  draught,  the 
original  of  Hamilton's  correction  of  it,  the  originals  of  all 
Hamilton's  letters,  and  we  presume, — for  this  was  his 
habit, — copies  of  the  letters  he  had  written  to  Hamilton, 
touching  the  same  matter.  He  preserved,  we  have  no 
doubt,  the  revision  of  Hamilton,  as  he  preserved  all  the 
other  papers ;  for  it  is  morally  certain  that  from  Washing- 


CONCERNING   THE    ADDRESS,    UNTIL    HIS    DEATH.  163 

ton's  cabinet  it  must  have  come,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the 
certain  person  in  Mr.  Jay's  letter,  if  there  was  accuracy  in 
Judge  Peters's  statement.     Washington  was  even  anxious 
to  keep  copies  of  all  these  papers ;  for  he  urged  upon  Ham 
ilton  the  safe-keeping  and  return  of  his  own  draught,  because 
he  had  no  copy,  except  of  the  "  quoted  part,"  which  was 
Madison's ;  and  of  this  he  had  the  original.     There  is  no 
difficulty,  moreover,  in  suggesting  why  he  was  so  tenacious 
of  that  draught,  and  so  desirous  of  its  being  returned  to 
him, — namely,  that  by  it  would  be  at  all  times  shown  what 
was  his  own,  and  what  the  contribution  of  another,  to  the 
Farewell  Address.     Washington  preserved  all  these  papers 
until  his  death,  with  his  usual  and  very  remarkable  care ; 
and  he  left  them  at  his  death  to  the  inspection  of  affection 
or  curiosity,  which  he  knew  to  be  unlimited  in  regard  to  all 
that  concerned  him.     Nay,  further:  this  care  of  papers,  in 
relation  to  a  subject  vastly  more  interesting  to  affection  and 
curiosity  than  any  paper  he   ever  published,  must  be,  to 
every  one  who  reflects  upon  it,  a  most  persuasive  proof  of  a 
foregone  determination  or  conclusion  on  the  part  of  Wash 
ington,  that  the  full  history  of  the  Farewell  Address,  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end,  including  all  the  parties,  and  all 
their  specific  contributions,  should  be  known  at  his  death. 
One  of  his  noble  motives  for  this, — not  looking  to  himself 
at  all,  but  to  the  friend  whose  public  virtues  he  knew,  as 
well  as  his  high-toned  fidelity, — may  not  improbably  have 
been,  to  show  by  them  Hamilton's  part  in  the  preparation  of 
the  Address,  and  his  more  than  accordance  with  its  senti 
ments  ;  that  in  this  way,  by  Washington's  agency,  might  be 
put  down,  the  inveterate  misrepresentations  of  a  rising  party, 
by  the  heads  of  which  Hamilton  was  calumniated  as  hostile  to 


164          WASHINGTON'S  MOTIVES  FOR  PRESERVING  THEM. 

republican  government,  and  to  the  principles  of  the  Consti 
tution.  Such  a  motive  would  have  perfectly  corresponded 
with  Washington's  known  affection  and  regard.  Let  us  not 
be  over-jealous  for  such  a  man,  who  was  as  true  as  steel  to 
his  principles  and  friends,  and  was  infinitely  above  the  petty 
jealousies  which  embitter  the  small  traffickers  for  the  praise 
of  the  world ! 

Some  of  his  letters  to  Hamilton  are  marked  private; 
others  are  not  so  marked.  The  very  first  and  fullest  of  all, 
the  letter  of  the  15th  May,  is  not  so  marked.  It  is  this  by 
which  he  commits  his  Valedictory  Address  to  Hamilton, 
mentioning  it  by  name,  commenting  upon  it  extensively, 
and  requesting  him  to  correct  it,  with  authority  to  write  it 
anew,  if  he  saw  fit — stipulating  only  for  the  guidance  of  his 
own  sentiments.  These  were  the  Man,  and  these  were  all 
that  he  cared  to  have  followed  as  his  own.  The  letters 
of  the  26th  June  and  10th  August  are  not  marked  private, 
nor  that  of  the  6th  September.  Those  of  the  25th  August 
and  1st  September  are  so  marked.  Can  any  person,  upon 
the  inspection  of  these  letters,  raise  the  proposition,  that 
those  marked  private  were  to  be  regarded  as  specially 
private  or  confidential,  and  the  others  not  so  I  or  that  there 
was  anything  in  that  mark  where  it  was  used,  except  a  par 
tial  observance  of  routine,  sometimes  followed  by  accident, 
and  sometimes  omitted  in  the  like  way,  to  distinguish  a 
public  letter,  or  a  familiar  one,  from  a  letter  that  was  to  be 
treated  with  some  reserve  I  There  is  nothing  in  this  mark, 
or  in  any  part  of  the  case,  that  shows  a  purpose  in  Wash 
ington  to  have  the  intervention  of  Hamilton  treated  with 
special  secrecy.  There  was  an  intimation  to  the  contrary, 
in  the  plainness  with  which  he  referred  to  Madison's 


SAME    SUBJECT.  165 

aid,  and  to  his  purpose  of  bringing  home  to  one  or  two  per 
sons,  the  consciousness  that  the  aid  had  heen  given  upon  a 
former  occasion,  and  was  not  given  now.  If,  however,  the 
mark  private^  or  any  other  mark,  had  looked  to  special  reserve, 
it  must  have  been  used  as  a  restriction  for  that  time  only, 
and  for  its  then  present  purpose,  because  the  careful  reten 
tion  of  the  papers  we  have  referred  to,  until  Washington's 
death,  is  irrefragable  proof  to  that  effect.  It  is  an  irrefu 
table  answer  to  every  one,  who  shall  impute  to  Washington 
the  small  vanity  of  wishing  to  pass  for  the  writer  of  what 
he  did  not  write,  or  to  Hamilton  the  correlative  wrong  of 
preserving  what  he  ought  not  to  have  preserved.  We  bring 
such  men  down  to  a  level  far  below  them,  to  the  level  of  the 
common  vanities  of  common  men,  if  we  impute  such  foibles 
to  them.  Washington  knew  well,  as  every  great  or  very 
eminent  public  man  has  known,  that  privacy,  in  its  absolute 
sense,  was  not  for  him.  He  knew  that  all  his  papers  re 
lating  to  public  transactions  of  note,  must  sooner  or  later 
become  known ;  and  not  from  affectionate  curiosity  only,  or 
from  the  envy  that  follows  public  greatness  as  a  shadow, 
even  after  it  has  become,  in  one  sense,  less  than  a  shade 
itself,  but  from  a  grave  public  and  abiding  interest  in  the 
life  and  transactions  of  the  man  upon  whom  they  bore. 
Washington  knew  all  this  as  well  as  most  men,  and  possibly 
better;  and  prepared  for  it  accordingly,  not  by  destroying 
or  inventing,  as  some  have  done,  but  by  letting  everything 
concerning  him  be  seen  as  it  was.  The  sentiments  of  that 
Farewell  Address  were  his  own — principally  by  his  sugges 
tion  ;  the  leading  or  fundamental  sentiments,  exclusively  so. 
This  was  the  gold ;  the  rest  was  the  minting. 

The  whole  of  this  invidious  objection,  which  has  been 


166       THE    OBJECTION   TO    PRESERVING   HAMILTON'S    DRAUGHT 

noticed,  is  founded  on  a  mistake.  It  is  a  mistake,  whether 
we  regard  the  subject  in  the  light  of  general  usage  or  of 
principle,  to  apply  to  such  a  paper  as  the  Farewell  Address, 
the  rule  which  may  be  thought  to  prevail  in  cases  of  confi 
dential  literary  assistance,  supplied  to  a  friend  who  is  com 
peting  for  literary  honor  as  an  author.  That  rule  cannot 
have,  and,  in  the  practice  of  the  world,  has  never  received, 
an  application  to  the  case  of  a  political  or  military  chief, 
communicating  his  instructions  or  thoughts  to  the  people, 
or  to  any  branch  of  the  public  authorities.  Such  communi 
cations  are  essentially  a  public  act,  and  not  a  personal  one, 
except  that,  in  such  a  leave-taking  as  Washington's,  we 
may  suppose  that  he  searched  the  depths  of  his  heart  for  the 
thoughts  which  he  meant  to  utter  to  the  people ;  and  very 
many  of  the  great  thoughts  of  that  paper  are  from  his  own 
heart.  In  the  first  intention,  the  paper  would  have  been 
more  a  personal  one,  than  it  afterwards  became,  to  Wash 
ington's  entire  satisfaction,  through  a  just  consideration  of 
his  great  public  relation  to  the  whole  country  and  people. 
The  official  character  in  such  a  case,  and  the  direction  to  the 
whole  people,  could  not  be  thrown  off,  without  impairing  the 
weight  and  influence  of  the  writing,  and  almost  its  perti 
nency.  The  difference  between  a  speech  or  message  to  the 
two  Houses  of  Congress,  and  such  an  address  to  the  people, 
may  be  a  constitutional  one  in  this  sense,  that  there  is  an 
affirmative  provision  in  the  Constitution  which  includes  the 
one  expressly,  without  expressing  the  other ;  but,  in  the 
sense  of  public  concern,  and  of  executive  supervision,  there 
is  no  difference  between  them.  Washington  did  not  regard 
the  paper  as  a  personal  one  only.  He  read  it  to  his  Cabi- 


NOT  APPLICABLE  TO  SUCH  A  PUBLIC  PAPER.        167 

net,*  and  he  ordered  it  to  be  recorded  in  the  Department  of 
State.  He  was  not  competing  for  favor  as  an  author,  but 
recommending  principles  of  government,  and  rules  of  political 
action,  within  the  range  and  scope  of  the  Executive  office ; 
and  by  whom  he  was  assisted  in  giving  form  or  expression 
to  his  thoughts,  or  in  suggesting  thoughts  for  his  considera 
tion,  was  a  matter  that  no  more  touched  his  self-love,  or  his 
sense  of  self-respect,  than  the  like  service  did  in  regard  to  a 
speech  or  message  to  Congress.  No  one,  who  has  formed  a 
just  estimate  of  that  great  man,  can  imagine  that  he  regarded 
his  personal  dignity,  or  his  personal  value  and  efficiency, 
and,  least  of  all,  his  true  claims  to  respect  and  reverence,  as 
reduced  or  compromised,  in  the  least  degree,  by  his  asking 
the  aid  of  a  friend,  who  had  been  his  trusted  minister,  to 
arrange  his  thoughts,  or  to  improve  their  expression,  upon 
any  public  subject  on  which  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  speak.  He 
was  so  high-spirited  and  sensitive,  as  well  as  sincere,  that 
the  glimpse  of  such  a  thought  would  have  turned  him  aside, 
as  certainly,  perhaps,  as  any  man  that  ever  lived.  The 
resort  to  such  assistance  was  all  the  more  likely  to  be  made, 
and  was  all  the  more  frequently  made,  because  no  one  was 
more  justly  entitled  to  feel  conscious,  that  his  powers  of 
thought  and  expression  were  such  as  to  place  him  on  a  per 
fect  level  with  his  office  and  duties ;  though,  on  occasions 
when  he  might  encounter  criticism  from  enemies  or  adversa 
ries — and  he  had  them  both — he  may  have  thought  that  his 
active  life  had  not  permitted  him  to  become  so  sure  of  the 
various  colors  and  shades  of  language,  or  so  intimate  with 


*  I  state  this  fact  upon  the  authority  of  a  letter  from  Colonel  Pickering,  then  Secre 
tary  of  State,  which  is  in  the  possession  of  John  C.  Hamilton,  Esq. 


168  REMARKS    UPON   THE   RESPECTIVE    CONTRIBUTIONS 

the  best  forms  of  composition,  as  to  enable  him  to  select 
with  facility,  in  the  face  of  such  critics,  the  plan  and  words 
which  would  give  the  most  certain  and  effective  expression 
to  his  thoughts,  and  the  best  protection  against  their  per 
versions. 

It  is  a  small  question  to  raise,  after  the  death  of  two  great 
public  men,  neither  of  whom,  in  his  lifetime,  suffered  the 
breath  of  dishonor  to  condense  upon  his  garments  ;  and  each 
of  whom,  in  his  claims  to  a  deathless  reputation,  could  have 
referred  to  a  thousand  proofs  that  are  stronger  than  the 
Farewell  Address,  or  the  original  draught  of  it.  But,  having 
been  raised,  through  accident  or  design,  through  levity  or 
malevolence,  my  admiration  of  each  has  made  me  unwilling 
to  withhold  the  humble  labor  of  putting  it  in  its  proper  light 
in  regard  to  both. 

Having  now  concluded  this  Inquiry,  after  placing  in  the 
body  of  it,  or  pointing  out  in  the  documents  it  refers  to, 
ample  and  authentic  materials  from  which  every  reader  may 
form  an  opinion  for  himself,  there  is  little  occasion  for  ex 
pressing  my  own,  upon  the  whole  matter.  I  must  avoid, 
however,  the  appearance  of  affectation,  by  suppressing  it 
altogether  at  the  conclusion,  after  having,  no  doubt,  inti 
mated  portions  of  it  incidentally,  and  sometimes  perhaps 
unintentionally,  in  the  course  of  the  essay. 

I  have  not  the  least  intention,  however,  of  either  institu 
ting,  or  leading  to,  a  comparison  of  the  respective  values  of 
the  several  contributions  to  the  Farewell  Address.  If  that 
question  shall  be  raised,  of  which  I  should  think  there  is 
little  probability,  at  least  among  men  who  have  sufficient 
sentiment  to  regard  that  Address  as  the  testament  of  Wash- 


OF   WASHINGTON   AND    HAMILTON.  169 

ington,  and  Hamilton  as  the  indicter  of  his  Will,  the  com 
parison  must  have  different  results,  as  it  shall  be  made  upon 
either  political,  or  moral,  or  literary  grounds ;  for  values  of 
these  descriptions  are  not  comparable  altogether  in  their  na 
ture,  one  or  more  of  them  passing  by  weight,  adjusted  upon 
exact  principles,  and  one  at  least  by  a  variable  and  rather 
arbitrary  scale  of  taste  or  convention.  Even  the  more  pon 
derable  parts  are  by  no  means  on  one  side  only.  My  dispo 
sition  is  to  describe,  and  not  to  compare. 

Washington  was  undoubtedly  the  original  designer  of  the 
Farewell  Address ;  and  not  merely  by  general  or  indefinite 
intimation,  but  by  the  suggestion  of  perfectly  definite  sub-  / 
jects,  of  an  end  or  object,  and  of  a  general  outline,  the  same 
which  the  paper  now  exhibits.  His  outline  did  not  appear 
so  distinctly  in  his  own  plan,  because  the  subjects  were  not 
so  arranged  in  it  as  to  show  that  they  were  all  comprehended 
within  a  regular  and  proportional  figure;  but  when  they 
came  to  be  so  arranged  in  the  present  Address,  the  scope  of 
the  whole  design  is  seen  to  be  contained  within  the  limits 
he  intended,  and  to  fill  them.  The  subjects  were  traced  by 
him  with  adequate  precision,  though  without  due  connection, 
with  little  expansion,  and  with  little  declared  bearing  of 
the  parts  upon  each  other,  or  towards  a  common  centre; 
but  they  may  now  be  followed  with  ease  in  their  proper 
relations  and  bearing  in  the  finished  paper,  such  only  ex- 
cepted  as  he  gave  his  final  consent  and  approbation  to 
exclude. 

In  the  most  common  and  prevalent  sense  of  the  word 
among  literary  men,  this  may  not,  perhaps,  be  called  author 
ship  ;  but  in  the  primary  etymological  sense, — the  quality  of 
imparting  growth  or  increase, — there  can  be  no  doubt  that 


170  THE    SAME    SUBJECT 

it  is  so.  By  derivation  from  himself,  the  Farewell  Address 
speaks  the  very  mind  of  Washington.  The  fundamental 
thoughts  and  principles  were  his ;  but  he  was  not  the  com 
poser  or  writer  of  the  paper. 

Hamilton  was,  in  the  prevalent  literary  sense,  the  com 
poser  and  writer  of  the  paper.  The  occasional  adoption  of 
Washington's  language  does  not  materially  take  from  the 
justice  of  this  attribution.  The  new  plan,  the  different 
form,  proceeded  from  Hamilton.  He  was  the  author  of  it. 
He  put  together  the  thoughts  of  Washington  in  a  new 
order,  and  with  a  new  bearing ;  and  while,  as  often  as  he 
could,  he  used  the  words  of  Washington,  his  own  language 
was  the  general  vehicle,  both  of  his  own  thoughts,  and  for 
the  expansion  and  combination  of  Washington's  thoughts. 
Hamilton  developed  the  thoughts  of  Washington,  and  cor 
roborated  them  —  included  several  cognate  subjects,  and 
added  many  effective  thoughts  from  his  own  mind,  and 
united  all  into  one  chain  by  the  links  of  his  masculine  logic. 

The  main  trunk  was  Washington's ;  the  branches  were 
stimulated  by  Hamilton;  and  the  foliage,  which  was  not 
exuberant,  was  altogether  his;  and  he,  more  than  Wash 
ington,  pruned  and  nipped  off,  with  severe  discrimination, 
whatever  was  excessive,— that  the  tree  might  bear  the  fruits 
which  Washington  desired,  and  become  his  full  and  fit 
representative. 

This  is  the  impression  which  the  proofs  have  made  upon 
me  ;  and  I  am  not  conscious  of  the  least  bias  or  partiality,  in 
receiving  it  from  them. 

It  is  quite  impossible,  I  think,  to  divide  the  work  by  any 
thing  like  a  sharp  line  between  Washington  and  Hamilton ; 
but  there  is  less  difficulty  in  representing  the  character  of 


CONTINUED    AND    CLOSED.  171 

their  contributions,  by  language  in  some  degree  figurative, 
such  as,  in  one  instance,  I  have  used  already. 

We  have  explicit  authority  for  regarding  the  whole  Man 
as  compounded  of  BODY,  SOUL,  and  SPIRIT.  The  Farewell 
Address,  in  a  lower  and  figurative  sense,  is  likewise  so  com 
pounded.  If  these  were  divisible  and  distributable,  we 
might,  though  not  with  full  and  exact  propriety,  allot  the 
SOUL  to  Washington,  and  the  SPIRIT  to  Hamilton.  The 
elementary  body  is  Washington's,  also;  but  Hamilton  has 
developed  and  fashioned  it,  and  he  has  symmetrically  formed 
and  arranged  the  members,  to  give  combined  and  appro 
priate  action  to  the  whole.  This  would  point  to  an  allot 
ment  of  the  soul  and  the  elementary  body  to  Washington, 
and  of  the  arranging,  developing,  and  informing  spirit  to 
Hamilton, — the  same  characteristic  which  is  found  in  the  < 
great  works  he  devised  for  the  country,  and  are  still  the 
chart  by  which  his  department  of  the  government  is  ruled. 

The  FAREWELL  ADDRESS  itself,  while  in  one  respect — the 
question  of  its  authorship — it  has  had  the  fate  of  the  Eikon 
Basilike,  in  another  it  has  been  more  fortunate;  for  no 
Iconodastes  has  appeared,  or  ever  can  appear,  to  break  or 
mar  the  image  and  superscription  of  Washington,  which  it 
bears,  or  to  sully  the  principles  of  moral  and  political  action 
in  the  government  of  a  Nation,  which  are  reflected  from  it 
with  his  entire  approval,  and  were,  in  fundamental  points, 
dictated  by  himself. 


APPENDIX. 


No.  I. 

WASHINGTON'S  ORIGINAL  OR  PREPARATORY  DRAUGHT  OF  A 
FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 

[A  copy  of  this  document  accompanied  "Washington's  letter  of 
15th  May,  1796,  to  A.  Hamilton.  The  asterisks  indicate  the  altera 
tions  by  Washington,  referred  to  in  that  letter.] 

FRIENDS  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS: — 

The  quotation  in  this  Address  was  composed,  and  in 
tended  to  have  been  published,  in  the  year  1792,  in  time 
to  have  announced  to  the  Electors  of  the  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  the  determination  of  the  former, 
previous  to  the  said  election  to  that  office  could  have  been  made;  but 
the  solicitude  of  my  confidential  friends  ***  ***  *********  ** 
**  *********  ***  **  *****  ********  *  ***  ****  ****  **** 
/************  **  ***  ***  ***  *****  **  ***  *******.i.\  ****  * 
*****  *******  **  *************  added  to  the  peculiar  situation 
of  our  foreign  affairs  at  that  epoch,  induced  me  to  suspend  the  pro 
mulgation,  lest,  among  other  reasons,  my  retirement  might  be 
ascribed  to  political  cowardice.  In  place  thereof,  I  resolved,  if  it 


t 


174  APPENDIX. 

should  be  the  pleasure  of  my  fellow-citizens  to  honor  me  again  with 
their  suffrages,  to  devote  such  services  as  I  could  render,  a  year  or 
two  longer,  trusting  that  within  that  period  all  impediments  to  an 
honorable  retreat  would  be  removed. 

In  this  hope,  as  fondly  entertained  as  it  was  conceived,  I  entered 
upon  the  execution  of  the  duties  of  my  second  administration. 
But  if  the  causes  which  produced  this  postponement  had  any 
weight  in  them  at  that  period,  it  will  readily  be  acknowledged  that 
there  has  been  no  diminution  in  them  since,  until  very  lately,  and 
it  will  serve  to  account  for  the  delay  which  has  taken  place  in  com 
municating  the  sentiments  which  were  then  committed  to  writing, 
and  are  now  found  in  the  following  words  :  — 


[MADISON'S  Peri°d  which  will   close  the  appointment  with 

DRAUGHT.]  which  my  fellow-citizens  have  honored  me,  being  not  very 
distant,  and  the  time  actually  arrived  at  which  their  thoughts  must 
be  designating  the  citizen  who  is  to  administer  the  executive  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  during  the  ensuing  term,  it  may  be 
requisite  to  a  more  distinct  expression  of  the  public  voice,  that  I 
should  apprise  such  of  my  fellow-citizens  as  may  retain  their  par 
tiality  towards  me,  that  I  am  not  to  be  numbered  among  those  out 
of  whom  a  choice  is  to  be  made. 

"  I  beg  them  to  be  assured  that  the  resolution,  which  dictates  this 
intimation,  has  not  been  taken  without  the  strictest  regard  to  the 
relation  which,  as  a  dutiful  citizen,  I  bear  to  my  country  ;  and  that, 
in  withdrawing  that  tender  of  my  service,  which  silence  in  my  situa 
tion  might  imply,  I  am  not  influenced  by  the  smallest  deficiency  of 
zeal  for  its  future  interests,  or  of  grateful  respect  for  its  past  kind 
ness  ;  but  by  the  fullest  persuasion  that  such  a  step  is  compatible 
with  both. 

0 

"  The  impressions,  under  which  I  entered  on  the  present  arduous 
trust,  were  explained  on  the  proper  occasion.  In  discharge  of  this 
trust,  I  can  only  say,  that  I  contributed  towards  the  organization 
and  administration  of  the  government  the  best  exertions  of  which  a 


APPENDIX.  175 

very  fallible  judgment  was  capable.  For  any  errors,  which  may 
have  flowed  from  this  source,  I  feel  all  the  regret  which  an  anxiety 
for  the  public  good  can  excite ;  not  without  the  double  consolation, 
however,  arising  from  a  consciousness  of  their  being  involuntary, 
and  an  experience  of  the  candor  which  will  interpret  them. 

"  If  there  were  any  circumstances  which  could  give  value  to  my 
inferior  qualifications  for  the  trust,  these  circumstances  must  have 
been  temporary.  In  this  light  was  the  undertaking  viewed  when  I 
ventured  upon  it.  Being,  moreover,  still  further  advanced  in  the 
decline  of  life,  I  am  every  day  more  sensible,  that  the  increasing 
weight  of  years  renders  the  private  walks  of  it,  in  the  shade  of  re 
tirement,  as  necessary  as  they  will  be  acceptable  to  me. 

"May  I  be  allowed  to  add,  that  it  will  be  among  the  highest  as 
well  as  purest  enjoyments  that  can  sweeten  the  remnant  of  my  days, 
to  partake  in  a  private  station,  in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  of 
that  benign  influence  of  good  laws  under  a  free  government,  which 
has  been  the  ultimate  object  of  all  our  wishes,  and  in  which  I 
confide  as  the  happy  reward  of  our  cares  and  labors  ?  May  I  be 
allowed  further  to  add,  as  a  consideration  far  more  important,  that 
an  early  example  of  rotation  in  an  office  of  so  high  and  delicate  a 
nature  may  equally  accord  with  the  republican  spirit  of  our  Consti 
tution,  and  the  ideas  of  liberty  and  safety  entertained  by  the  people. 

"In  contemplating  the  moment  at  which  the  curtain  is  to  drop 
forever  on  the  public  scenes  of  my  life,  my  sensations  anticipate, 
and  do  not  permit  me  to  suspend,  the  deep  acknowledgments  re 
quired  by  th Jb  debt  of  gratitude,  which  I  owe  to  my  beloved  country 
for  the  many  honors  it  has  conferred  upon  me,  for  the  distinguished 
confidence  it  has  reposed  in  me,  and 'for  the  opportunities  I  have 
thus  enjoyed  of  testifying  my  inviolable  attachment  by  the  most 
steadfast  services,  which  my  faculties  could  render. 

"  All  the  returns  I  have  now  to  make  will  be  in  those  vows,  which 
I  shall  carry  with  me  to  my  retirement  and  to  my  grave,  that 
Heaven  may  continue  to  favor  the  people  of  the  United  States  with 
the  choicest  tokens  of  its  beneficence ;  that  their  union  and  brotherly 


176  APPENDIX. 

affection  may  be  perpetual ;  that  the  free  Constitution,  which  is  the 
work  of  their  own  hands,  may  be  sacredly  maintained;  that  its 
administration,  in  every  department,  may  be  stamped  with  wisdom 
and  with  virtue ;  and  that  this  character  may  be  insured  to  it  by 
that  watchfulness  over  public  servants,  and  public  measures,  which 
on  one  hand  will  be  necessary  to  prevent  or  correct  a  degeneracy, 
and  that  forbearance,  on  the  other,  from  unfounded  or  indiscriminate 
jealousies,  which  would  deprive  the  public  of  the  best  services,  by 
depriving  a  conscious  integrity  of  one  of  the  noblest  incitements  to 
perform  them ;  that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the  people  of  America, 
under  the  auspices  of  liberty,  may  be  made  complete,  by  so  careful 
a  preservation  and  so  prudent  a  use  of  this  blessing,  as  will  acquire 
them  the  glorious  satisfaction  of  recommending  it  to  the  affection, 
the  praise,  and  the  adoption  of  every  nation,  which  is  yet  a  stranger 
to  it. 

"  And  may  we  not  dwell  with  well-grounded  hopes  on  this  flatter 
ing  prospect,  when  we  reflect  on  the  many  ties  by  which  the  people 
of  America  are  bound  together,  and  the  many  proofs  they  have 
given  of  an  enlightened  judgment  and  a  magnanimous  patriotism? 

"We  may  all  be  considered  as  the  children  of  one  common  coun 
try.  "We  have  all  been  embarked  in  one  common  cause.  We  have 
all  had  our  share  in  common  sufferings  and  common  successes.  The 
portion  of  the  earth,  allotted  for  the  theatre  of  our  fortunes,  fulfils 
our  most  sanguine  desires.  All  its  essential  interests  are  the  same ; 
while  the  diversities  arising  from  climate,  from  soil,  and  from  other 
local  and  lesser  peculiarities,  will  naturally  form  a  mutual  relation 
of  the  parts,  that  may  give  to  the  whole  a  more  entire  independence, 
than  has  perhaps  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  other  nation. 

"  To  confirm  these  motives  to  an  affectionate  and  permanent 
Union,  and  to  secure  the  great  objects  of  it,  we  have  established  a 
common  government,  which,  being  free  in  its  principles,  being 
founded  in  our  own  choice,  being  intended  as  the  guardian  of  our 
common  rights,  and  the  patron  of  our  common  interests,  and  wisely 
containing  within  itself  a  provision  for  its  own  amendment,  as  ex- 


APPENDIX.  177 

perience  may  point  out  its  errors,  seems  to  promise  everything  that 
can  be  expected  from  such  an  institution ;  and,  if  supported  by  wise 
counsels,  by  virtuous  conduct,  and  by  mutual  and  friendly  allow 
ances,  must  approach  as  near  to  perfection  as  any  human  work  can 
aspire,  and  nearer  than  any  which  the  annals  of  mankind  have 
recorded. 

"With  these  wishes  and  hopes,  I  shall  make  my  exit  from  civil 
life ;  and  I  have  taken  the  same  liberty  of  expressing  them,  which 
I  formerly  used  in  offering  the  sentiments  which  were  suggested  by 
my  exit  from  military  life. 

"  If,  in  either  instance,  I  have  presumed  more  than  I  ought,  on 
the  indulgence  of  my  fellow-citizens,  they  will  be  too  generous  to 
ascribe  it  to  any  other  cause,  than  the  extreme  solicitude  which  I 
am  bound  to  feel,  and  which  I  can  never  cease  to  feel,  for  their 
liberty,  their  prosperity,  and  their  happiness." 

"  Had  the  situation  of  our  public  affairs  continued 

THINTS,  OR  HEADS! 

OP  TOPICS.  J  to  wear  the  same  aspect  they  assumed  at  the  time  the 
foregoing  address  was  drawn,  I  should  not  have  taken  the  liberty  of 
troubling  you,  my  fellow-citizens,  with  any  new  sentiment,  or  with 
a  repetition  more  in  detail  of  those,  which  are  therein  contained ; 
but  considerable  changes  having  taken  place,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  I  shall  ask  your  indulgence  while  I  express,  with  more 
lively  sensibility,  the  following  most  ardent  wishes  of  my  heart. 

"  That  partyjdisputes  among  all  the  friends  and  lovers  of  their 
country  may  subside,  or,  as  the  wisdom  of  Providence  has  ordained 
that  men  on  the  same  subjects  shall  not  always  think  alike,  that 
charity  and  benevolence,  when  they  happen  to  differ,  may  so  far  C 
shed  their  benign  influence,  as  to  banish  those  invectives  which  pro-^—-" 
ceed  from  illiberal  prejudices  and  jealousy. 

"  That,  as  the  All-wise  Dispenser  of  human  blessings  has  favored 
no  nation  of  the  earth  with  more  abundant  and  substantial  means 
of  happiness  than  United  America,  we  may  not  be  so  ungrateful  to 
our  Creator,  so  wanting  to  ourselves,  and  so  regardless  of  posterity, 

12 


178  APPENDIX. 

as  to  dash  the  cup  of  beneficence,  which  is  thus  bountifully  offered 
to  our  acceptance. 

"  That  we  may  fulfil  with  the  greatest  exactitude  all  our  engage 
ments,  foreign  and  domestic,  to  the  utmost  of  our  abilities,  whenso 
ever  and  in  whatsoever  manner  they  are  pledged ;  for  in  public,  as 
in  private  life,  I  am  persuaded  that  honesty  will  forever  be  found  to 
be  the  best  policy. 

"  That  we  may  avoid  connecting  ourselves  with  the  politics  of 
any  nation,  farther  than  shall  be  found  necessary  to  regulate  our 
own  trade,  in  order  that  commerce  may  be  placed  upon  a  stable 
footing,  our  merchants  know  their  rights,  and  the  government  the 
ground  on  which  those  rights  are  to  be  supported. 

"  That  every  citizen  would  take  pride  in  the  name  of  an  Ameri 
can,  and  act  as  if  he  felt  the  importance  of  the  character,  by  con 
sidering,  that  we,  ourselves  are  now  a  distinct  nation,  the  dignity  of 
which  will  be  absorbed,  if  not  annihilated,  if  we  enlist  ourselves, 
farther  than  our  obligations  may  require,  under  the  banners  of  any 
other  nation  whatsoever.  And,  moreover,  that  we  should  guard 
-..  against  the  intrigues  of  any  and  every  foreign  nation,  who  shall 
'  endeavor  to  intermingle,  however  covertly  and  indirectly,  in  the  in 
ternal  concerns  of  our  country,  or  who  shall  attempt  to  prescribe 
rules  for  our  policy  with  any  other  power,  if  there  be  no  infraction 
of  our  engagements  with  themselves,  as  one  of  the  greatest  evils 
that  can  befall  us  as  a  people ;  for,  whatever  may  be  their  profes 
sions,  be  assured,  fellow-citizens,  and  the  event  will,  as  it  always 
has,  invariably  prove,  that  nations  as  well  as  individuals  act  for 
their  own  benefit,  and  not  for  the  benefit  of  others,  unless  both 
interests  happen  to  be  assimilated ;  and  when  that  is  the  case  there 
requires  no  contract  to  bind  them  together ;  that  all  their  inter 
ferences  are  calculated  to  promote  the  former ;  and,  in  proportion 
as  they  succeed,  will  render  us  less  independent.  In  a  word,  nothing 
is  more  certain,  than  that,  if  we  receive  favors  we  must  grant  favors ; 
and  it  is  not  easy  to  decide  beforehand  under  such  circumstances  as 
we  are,  on  which  side  the  balance  will  ultimately  preponderate  ;  but 


APPENDIX.  179 

easy  indeed  is  it  to  foresee,  that  it  may  involve  us  in  disputes,  and 
finally  in  Avar,  to  fulfil  political  alliances.  Whereas,  if  there  be  no 
engagements  on  our  part,  we  shall  be  unembarrassed,  and  at  liberty 
at  all  times  to  act  from  circumstances,  and  the  dictates  of  justice, 
sound  policy,  and  our  essential  interests. 

"  That  we  may  be  always  prepared  for  war,  but  never  unsheath 
the  sword  except  in  self-defence,  so  long  as  justice,  and  our  essen 
tial  rights  and  national  respectability,  can  be  preserved  without  it ; 
for  without  the  gift  of  prophecy  it  may  safely  be  pronounced,  that, 
if  this  country  can  remain  in  peace  twenty  years  longer  (and  I 
devoutly  pray,  that  it  may  do  so  to  the  end  of  time),  such,  in  all 
probability,  will  be  its  population,  riches,  and  resources,  when  com 
bined  with  its  peculiarly  happy  and  remote  situation  from  the  other 
quarters  of  the  globe,  as  to  bid.  defiance,  in  a  just  cause,  to  any 
earthly  power  whatsoever. 

"  That,  whensoever  and  so  long  as  we  profess  to  be  neutral,  our 
public  conduct,  whatever  our  private  affections  may  be,  may  accord 
therewith ;  without  suffering  partialities  on  one  hand,  or  prejudices 
on  the  other,  to  control  our  actions.  A  contrary  practice  is  not 
only  incompatible  with  our  declarations,  but  is  pregnant  with  mis 
chief,  embarrassing  to  the  administration,  tending  to  divide  us  into 
parties,  and  ultimately  productive  of  all  those  evils  and  horrors, 
which  proceed  from  faction. 

"That  our  Union  may  be  as  lasting  as  time;  for,  while  we  are 
encircled  in  one  band,  we  shall  possess  the  strength  of  a  giant,  and 
there  will  be  none  who  can  make  us  afraid.  Divide,  and  we  shall 
become  weak,  a  prey  to  foreign  intrigues  and  internal  discord,  and 
shall  be  as  miserable  and  contemptible,  as  we  are  now  enviable  and 
happy. 

"  That  the  several  departments  of  government  may  be  preserved 
in  their  utmost  constitutional  purity,  without  any  attempt  of  one  to 
encroach  on  the  rights  or  privileges  of  another ;  that  the  General 
and  State  governments  may  move  in  their  proper  orbits ;  and  that 
the  authorities  of  our  own  Constitution  may  be  respected  by  our- 


180  APPENDIX. 

selves,  as  the  most  certain  means  of  having  them  respected  by 
foreigners. 

"  In  expressing  these  sentiments  it  will  readily  be  perceived,  that 
I  can  have  no  other  view  now,  whatever  malevolence  might  have 
ascribed  to  it  before,  than  such  as  results  from  a  perfect  conviction 
of  the  utility  of  the  measure.  If  public  servants,  in  the  exercise 
of  their  official  duties,  are  found  incompetent,  or  pursuing  wrong 
courses,  discontinue  them.  If  they  are  guilty  of  malpractices  in 
office,  let  them  be  more  exemplarily  punished.  In  both  cases,  the 
Constitution  and  laws  have  made  provision ;  but  do  not  withdraw 
your  confidence  from  them,  the  best  incentive  to  a  faithful  discharge 
of  their  duty,  without  just  cause ;  nor  infer,  because  measures  of  a 
complicated  nature,  which  time,  opportunity,  and  close  investigation 
alone  can  penetrate^ — for  these  reasons  are  not  easily  comprehended 
by  those  who  do  not  possess  the  means, — that  it  necessarily  follows 
they  must  be  wrong.  This  wrould  not  only  be  doing  injustice  to  your 
trustees,  but  be  counteracting  your  own  essential  interests,  render 
ing  those  trustees,  if  not  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of  the  world, 
little  better  at  least,  than  ciphers  in  the  administration  of  the 
government,  and  the  Constitution  of  your  own  choosing  would  re 
proach  you  for  such  conduct." 

As  this  Address,  fellow-citizens,  will  be  the  last  I  shall 

[CONCLUSION.]  ,  ,  „      -  p  ,1        TT     •,      i 

ever  make  you,  and  as  some  of  the  gazettes  of  the  United 
/  States  have  teemed  with  all  the  invective  that  disappointment,  igno- 
J  ranee  of  facts,  and  malicious  falsehoods  could  invent,  to  misrepre- 
\  sent  my  politics  and  affections ;  to  wound  my  reputation  and  feel 
ings  ;  and  to  weaken  if  not  entirely  destroy  the  confidence    you 
had   been  pleased  to  repose  in  me ;  it  might  be  expected  at  the 
parting  scene  of  my  public  life,  that  I  should  take  some  notice  of 
such  virulent  abuse.    But,  as  heretofore,  I  shall  pass  them  over  in 
utter  silence ;  never  having  myself,  nor  by  any  other  with  my  par 
ticipation  or  knowledge,  written,  or  published  a  scrap  in  answer  to 
any  of  them.     My  politics  have  been  unconcealed,  plain  and  direct. 


APPENDIX.  181 

They  will  be  found  (so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  belligerent  powers) 
in  the  proclamation  of  the  22d  of  April,  1793 ;  which,  having  met 
your  approbation,  and  the  confirmation  of  Congress,  I  have  uni 
formly  and  steadily  adhered  to,  uninfluenced  by  and  regardless  of 
the  complaints  and  attempts  of  any  of  those  powers  or  their  parti 
sans  to  change  them. 

The  acts  of  my  administration  are  on  record.  By  these,  which 
will  not  change  with  circumstances  nor  admit  of  different  interpre 
tations,  I  expect  to  be  judged.  If  they  will  not  acquit  me,  in  your 
estimation,  it  will  be  a  source  of  regret ;  but  I  shall  hope  notwith 
standing,  as  I  did  not  seek  the  office  with  which  you  have  honored 
me,  that  charity  may  throw  her  mantle  over  my  want  of  abilities  to 
do  better — that  the  gray  hairs  of  a  man  who  has,  excepting  the  in 
terval  between  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  and  the  organiza 
tion  of  the  new  government — either  in  a  civil,  or  military  character, 
spent  five  and  forty  years — All  the  prime  of  his  life — in  serving 
his  country,  be  suffered  to  pass  quietly  to  the  grave — and  that  his 
errors,  however  numerous,  if  they  are  not  criminal,  may  be  con 
signed  to  the  tomb  of  oblivion,  as  he  himself  soon  will  be  to  the 
mansions  of  retirement. 

To  err  is  the  lot  of  humanity,  and  never  for  a  moment,  have  I 
ever  had  the  presumption  to  suppose  that  I  had  not  a  full  proportion 
of  it.  Infallibility  not  being  the  attribute  of  man,  we  ought  to  be 
cautious  in  censuring  the  opinions  and  conduct  of  one  another.  To 
avoid  intentional  error  in  my  public  conduct  has  been  my  constant 
endeavor  ;  and  I  set  malice  at  defiance  to  charge  me  justly,  with  the 
commission  of  a  wilful  one ;  or,  with  the  neglect  of  any  public  duty, 
which  in  my  opinion  ought  to  have  been  performed,  since  I  have 
been  in  the  administration  of  the  government, — an  administration 
which  I  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce — the  infancy  of  the  government, 
and  all  other  circumstances  considered — that  has  been  as  difficult, 
delicate,  and  trying  as  may  occur  again  in  any  future  period  of  our 
history;  through  the  whole  .of  which  I  have  to  the  best  of  my 
judgment,  and  with  the  best  information  and  advice  I  could  obtain, 


182  APPENDIX. 

consulted  the  true  and  permanent  interest  of  my  country  without 
regard  to  local  considerations — to  individuals — to  parties — or  to 
nations. 

To  conclude,  and  I  feel  proud  in  having  it  in  my  power  to  do  so 
with  truth,  that  it  was  not  from  ambitious  views ;  it  was  not  from 
ignorance  of  the  hazard  to  which  I  knew  I  was  exposing  my  repu 
tation  ;  it  was  not  from  an  expectation  of  pecuniary  compensation, 
that  I  have  yielded  to  the  calls  of  my  country ;  and  that,  if  my 
country  has  derived  no  benefit  from  my  services,  my  fortune,  in  a 
pecuniary  point  of  view,  has  received  no  augmentation  from  my 
country.  But  in  delivering  this  last  sentiment,  let  me  be  unequivo 
cally  understood  as  not  intending  to  express  any  discontent  on  my 
part,  or  to  imply  any  reproach  on  my  country  on  that  account. 
[The  first  would  be  untrue — the  other  ungrateful.  And  no  occasion 
more  fit  than  ,the  present  may  ever  occur  perhaps  to  declare,  as  I 
now  do  declare,  that  nothing  but  the  principle  upon  which  I  set  out, 
and  from  which  I  have  in  no  instance  departed,  not  to  receive  more 
from  the  public  than  my  expenses,  has  restrained  the  bounty  of 
several  legislatures  at  the  close  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain 
from  adding  considerably  to  my  pecuniary  resources.]*  I  retire 
from  the  chair  of  government  no  otherwise  benefitted  in  this  par 
ticular  than  what  you  have  all  experienced  from  the  increased  value 
of  property,  flowing  from  the  peace  and  prosperity  with  which  our 
country  has  been  blessed  amidst  tumults  which  have  harassed  and 
.  involved  other  countries  in  all  the  horrors  of  war.  I  leave  you  with 
/  undefiled  hands,  an  uncorrupted  heart,  and  with  ardent  vows  to 
\  Heaven  for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  that  country  in  which  I 
/  and  my  forefathers,  to  the  third  or  fourth  progenitor,  drew  our  first 
s  breath. 

G^  WASHINGTON. 


*  In  the  margin  of  this  passage,  which  is  here  bracketed,  Washington  wrote :  "  This 
may  or  not  be  omitted."     The  brackets  are  not  in  the  copy  of  Washington's  draught. 


APPENDIX.  183 

No.  II. 
FAREWELL    ADDRESS. 

ABSTRACT  OF  POINTS  TO  FORM  AN  ADDRESS.* 
Hamilton's  Works,  Vol.  VII,  p.  570. 

1796. 

I.  The  period  of  a  new  election  approaching,  it  is  his  duty  to  an 
nounce  his  intention  to  decline. 

II.  He  had  hoped  that  long  ere  this  it  would  have  been  in  his 
power,  and  particularly  had  nearly  come  to  a  final  resolution  in  the 
year  1792  to  do  it,  but  the  peculiar  situation  of  affairs,  and  advice 
of  confidential  friends,  dissuaded. 

III.  In  acquiescing  in  a  further  election  he  still  hoped  a  year  or 
two  longer  would  have  enabled  him  to  withdraw,  but  a  continuance 
of  causes  has  delayed  till  now,  when  the  position  of  our  country, 
abroad  and  at  home,  justifies  him  in  pursuing  his  inclination. 

IV.  In  doing  it  he  has  not  been  unmindful  of  his  relations  as  a 
dutiful  citizen  to  his  country,  nor  is  now  influenced  by  the  smallest 
diminution  of  zeal  for  its  interest  or  gratitude  for  its  past  kindness, 
but  by  a  belief  that  the  step  is  compatible  with  both. 

V.  The  impressions  under  which  he  first  accepted  were  explained 
on  the  proper  occasion. 

VI.  In  the  execution  of  it  he  has  contributed  the  best  exertions 
of  a  very  fallible  judgment  —  anticipated   his  insufficiency  —  expe 
rienced  his  disqualifications  for  the  difficult  trust,  and  every  day  a 
stronger  sentiment  from  that  cause  to  yield  the  place  —  advance  into 
the  decline  of  life  —  every  day  more  sensible  of  weight  of  years,  of 
the  necessity  of  repose,  of  the  duty  to  seek  retirement,  &c.     Add, 


*  This  indorsement,  together  with  the  whole  of  this  paper,  is  copied  from  a  draught 
in  Hamilton's  hand.  —  ED. 


184  APPENDIX. 

VII.  It  will  be  among  the  purest  enjoyments  which  can  sweeten 
the  remnant  of  his  days,  to  partake  in  a  private  station,  in  the 
midst  of  his  fellow-citizens,  the  laws  of  a  free  government,  the  ulti 
mate  object  of  his  cares  and  wishes. 

VIII.  As  to  rotation. 

IX.  In  contemplating  the  moment  of  retreat,  cannot  forbear  to 
express  his  deep  acknowledgments  and  debt  of  gratitude  for  the 
many  honors  conferred  on  him — the  steady  confidence  which,  even 
amidst  discouraging  scenes  and  efforts  to  poison  its  source,  has  ad 
hered  to  support  him,  and  enabled  him  to  be  useful — marking,  if 
well  placed,  the  virtue  and  wisdom  of  his  countrymen.     All  the 
return  he  can  now  make  must  be  in  the  vows  he  will  carry  with  him 
to  his  retirement :  1st,  for  a  continuance  of  the  Divine  beneficence 
to  his  country ;  2d,  for  the  perpetuity  of  their  union  and  brotherly 
affection — for  a  good  administration  insured  by  a  happy  union  of 
watchfulness  and  confidence ;   3d,  that  happiness  of  people  under 
auspices  of  liberty  may  be  complete ;  4th,  that  by  a  prudent  use  of 
the  blessing  they  may  recommend  to  the  affection,  the  praise,  and 
the  adoption,  of  every  nation  yet  a  stranger  to  it. 

X.  Perhaps  here  he  ought  to  end.     But  an  unconquerable  solici 
tude  for  the  happiness  of  his  country  will  not  permit  him  to  leave 
the   scene  without   availing   himself  of  whatever   confidence   may 
remain  in  him,  to  strengthen  some  sentiments  which  he  believes  to 
be  essential  to  their  happiness,  and  to  recommend  some  rules  of  con 
duct,  the  importance  of  which  his  own  experience  has  more  than 
ever  impressed  upon  him. 

XI.  To  consider  the  Union  as  the  rock  of  their  salvation,  pre 
senting  summarily  these  ideas : 

1.  The  strength  and  greater  security  from  external  danger. 

2.  Internal  peace,  and  avoiding  the  necessity  of  establishments 
Safety,    peace,  dangerous  to  liberty. 

and  liberty  and 

commerce.  3.  Avoids  the  effects  of  foreign  intrigue. 

4.  Breaks  the  force  of  faction  by  rendering  combinations  more 
difficult. 


APPENDIX.  185 

Fitness  of  the  parts  for  each  other  by  their  very  discrimina 
tions  : 

1.  The  North,  by  its  capacity  for  maritime  strength  and  manu 
facture. 

2.  The  agricultural   South  furnishing  materials   and  requiring 
those  protections. 

The  Atlantic  board  to  the  western  country  by  the  strong  interest 
of  peace,  and 

The  Western,  by  the  necessity  of  Atlantic  maritime  protection. 

Cannot  be  secure  of  their  great  outlet  otherwise — cannot  trust  a 
foreign  connection. 

Solid  interests  invite  to  union.  Speculation  of  difficulty  of 
government  ought  not  to  be  indulged,  nor  momentary  jealousies — 
lead  to  impatience. 

Faction  and  individual  ambition  are  the  only  advisers  of  disunion. 

Let  confidence  be  cherished.  Let  the  recent  experience  of  the 
West  be  a  lesson  against  impatience  and  distrust. 

XII.  Cherish  the  actual  government.     It  is  the  government  of 
our  own  choice,  free  in  its  principles,  the  guardian  of  our  common 
rights,  the  patron  of  our  common  interests,  and  containing  within 
itself  a  provision  for  its  own  amendment. 

But  let  that  provision  be  cautiously  used — not  abused ;  changing 
only  in  any  material  points  as  experience  shall  direct ;  neither  in 
dulging  speculations  of  too  much  or  too  little  force  in  the  system ; 
and  remembering  always  the  extent  of  our  country. 

Time  and  habit  of  great  consequence  to  every  government,  of 
whatever  structure. 

Discourage  the  spirit  of  faction,  the  bane  of  free  government ; 
and  particularly  avoid  founding  it  on  geographical  discriminations. 
Discountenance  slander  of  public  men.  Let  the  departments  of 
government  avoid  interfering  and  mutual  encroachment. 

XIII.  Morals,  religion,  industry,  commerce,  economy. 
Cherish  public  credit — source  of  strength  and  security. 
Adherence  to  systematic  views. 


186  APPENDIX. 

XIV.  Cherish  good  faith,  justice,  and  peace,  with  other  nations  : 

1.  Because  religion  and  morality  dictate  it. 

2.  Because  policy  dictates  it. 

If  these  could  exist,  a  nation  invariably  honest  and  faithful,  the 
benefits  would  be  immense. 

But  avoid  national  antipathies  or  national  attachments. 

Display  the  evils  ;  fertile  source  of  wars — instrument  of  ambitious 
rulers. 

XV.  Republics  peculiarly  exposed  to  foreign  intrigue,  those  sen 
timents  lay  them  open  to  it. 

XVI.  The  great  rule  of  our  foreign  politics  ought  to  be  to  have 
as  little  political  connection  as  possible  with  foreign  nations. 

Cultivating  commerce  with  all  by  gentle  and 

Establishing    temporary  and  -,  vrv      •  IT  •/»•  •. 

convenient  rules  that  com-  natural    means,    diffusing  and   diversifying  it, 
merce  may  be  placed  on  a  sta-  but  forcing  nothing— and  cherish  the  sentiment 

ble  footing ;  merchants  know  J  J  y 

their  commerce;  how  to  sup-  Of  independence,  taking   pride  in  the  appella- 

port  them,  not  seeking  favors. 

tion  of  American. 

XVII.  Our  separation  from  Europe  renders  standing  alliances 
inexpedient — subjecting  our  peace  and  interest  to  the  primary  and 
complicated  relations  of  European  interests. 

Keeping  constantly  in  view  to  place  ourselves  upon  a  respect 
able  defensive,  and  if  forced  into  controversy,  trusting  to  con 
nections  of  the  occasion. 

XVIII.  Our  attitude  imposing  and  rendering  this  policy  safe. 
But  this  must  be  with  the  exception  of  existing  engagements,  to 

be  preserved  but  not  extended. 

XIX.  It  is  not  expected  that  these  admonitions  can  control  the 
course  of  the  human  passions,  but  if  they  only  moderate  them  in 
some  instances,  and  now  and  then  excite  the  reflections  of  virtuous 
men  heated  by  party  spirit,  my  endeavor  is  rewarded. 

XX.  How  far,  in  the  administration  of  my  present  office  my  con 
duct  has   conformed  to  these  principles,   the  public  records  must 
witness.     My  conscience  assures  me  that  I  believed  myself  to  be 
guided  by  them. 


APPENDIX.  187 

XXI.  Particularly  in  relation  to  the  present  war,  the  proclama 
tion  of  the  22d  of  April,  1793,  is  the  key  to  my  plan. 

Touch  sentiments       Approved  by  your  voice  and  that  of  your  represent- 

with     regard     to  J 

conduct  of  bei-  atives  in  Congress,  the  spirit  of  that  measure  has  con- 

ligerent     powers.    , .          ,,  •  -i     i  •     n 

A  wish  that  tmually  guided  me,  uninfluenced  by,  and  regardless  of, 
t?bTLCh  g^gol'  the  complaints  and  attempts  of  any  of  the  powers  at 
eminent.  war  or  fa^  partisans  to  change  them. 

I  thought  our  country  had  a  right  under  all  the  cir- 
Time  everything,    cumstances  to  take  this  ground,  and  I  was  resolved  as 
far  as  depended  on  me  to  maintain  it  firmly. 

XXII.  However,  in  reviewing  the  course  of  my  administration, 
I  may  be  unconscious  of  intentional  errors,  I  am  too  sensible  of  my 
own  deficiencies  not  to  believe  that  I  may  have  fallen  into  many. 
I  deprecate  the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend,  and  pray  Heaven  to 
avert  or  mitigate  and  abridge  them.     I  carry  with  me,  nevertheless, 
the  hope  that  my  motives  will  continue  to  be  viewed  with  indulgence, 
that  after  forty-five_years  of  my  life  devoted  to  public  service,  with 
a  good  zeal  and  upright  views,  the  faults  of  deficient  abilities  will 
be  consigned  to  oblivion,  and  myself  must  soon  be  to  the  mansions 
of  rest. 

XXIII.  Neither  interest  nor  ambition  has  been  my  impelling 
motive.     I  never  abused  the  power  confided  to  me — I  have  not  bet 
tered  my  fortune,  retiring  with  it,  no  otherwise  improved  than  by 
the  influence  on  property  of  the  common  blessings  of  my  country  : — 
I  retire  with  undefiled  hands  and  an  uncorrupted  heart,  and  with 
ardent  vows  for  the  welfare  of  that  country,  which  has  been  the 
native  soil  of  myself  and  my  ancestors  ^  four  generations. 


188  APPENDIX. 

No.  III. 

HAMILTON'S  ORIGINAL  DRAUGHT  OF  AN  ADDRESS.* 
Hamilton's  Works,  Vol.  VII,  p.  575. 

[MEMORANDUM. — The  clauses  in  this  reprint  which  are  inclosed  by 
brackets,  with  an  exception  of  four  words  in  the  26th  paragraph, 
that  are  bracketed  in  Hamilton's  works,  show  the  origin  of  the 
cancelled  passages  in  Washington's  autograph  copy  of  the  Farewell 
Address.  The  original  of  this  draught  is  indorsed  by  Hamilton, 
"Copy  of  the  original  draught  considerably  amended."^ 

August,  1796. 

The  period  for  a  new  election  of  a  citizen  to  administer  the  execu 
tive  government  of  the  United  States,  being  not  very  distant,  and 
the  time  actually  arrived  when  your  thoughts  must  be  employed  in 
designating  the  person  who  is  to  be  clothed  with  that  important 
trust  for  another  term,  it  appears  to  me  proper,  and  especially  as  it 
may  conduce  to  a  more  distinct  expression  of  the  public  voice,  that 
I  should  now  apprise  you  of  the  resolution  I  have  formed  to  decline 
being  considered  among  the  number  of  those  out  of  whom  a  choice 
is  to  be  made. 

I  beg  you,  nevertheless, f  to  be  assured  that  the  resolution  which 
I  announce,  has  not  been  taken  without  a  strict  regard  to  all  the 
considerations  attached  toj  the  relation  which,  as  a  dutiful  citizen, 
I  bear§  to  my||  country,  and  that  in  withdrawing  the  tender  of  my 
service,  which  silence  in  my  situation  might  imply,  I  am  influenced 
by  no  diminution  of  zeal  for  its  future  interest,  nor  by  any  deficiency 


*  This  is  a  copy  of  the  original  draught  in  Hamilton's  autograph.  The  notes 
embrace  the  final  alterations  in  this  draught,  but  there  are  many  previous  erasures 
which  can  only  be  given  in  a  fac-simile. — ED. 

f  at  the  same  time.  J  connected  with — inseparable  from — incident  to. 

§  bears.  I  his. 


APPENDIX.  189 

of  grateful  respect  for  its  past  kindness,  but  by  a  full  conviction 
that  such  a  step  is  compatible  with  both. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  the  continuance  hitherto  in  the  office  to 
which  your  suffrages  have  twice  called  me,  has  been  a  uniform  sacri 
fice  of  private  inclination  to*  the  opinion  of  public  duty  coinciding 
with  what  appeared  to  be  your  wishes.  I  had  constantly  hoped  that 
it  would  have  been  much  earlier  in  my  power,  consistently  with 
motives  which  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard,  to  return  to  that 
retirement  from  which  those^  motives  had  reluctantly  drawn  me. 

The  strength  of  my  desire  to  withdraw  previous  to  the  last  elec 
tion,  had  even  led  to  the  preparation  of  an  address  to  declare  it  to 
you,  but  deliberate;);  reflection  on  the  very  critical  and  perplexed 
posture  of  our  affairs  with  foreign  nations,  and  the  unanimous  advice 
of  men§  every  way  entitled  to  my  confidence,  obliged||  me  to  aban 
don  the  idea. 

I  rejoice  that  the  state  of  your  national  concerns,  external  as  well 
as  internal,  no  longer  renders  the  pursuit  of  my  inclination  incom 
patible  with  the  sentiment  of  duty  or  propriety,  andf  that  whatever 
partiality  any  portion  of  you  may  still  retain  for  my  services,  they, 
under  the  existing  circumstances  of  our  country,  will  not  disapprove 
the**  resolutionff  I  have  formed. 

The  impressions  under  which  I  first  accepted  the  arduous  trust  of 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States,  were  explained  on  the  proper 
occasion.    In  the  discharge  of  this  trust,  I  can  only  say  that  I  have,    / 
with  pure  intentions,  contributed  towards  the  organization  and  ad-    ^ 
ministration  of  the  government  the  best  exertions  of  which  a  very 
fallible  judgment  was  capable ;  that  conscious  atJJ  the  outset  of  the 
inferiority  of  my  qualifications  for  the  station,  experience  in  my 
own  eyes,  and  perhaps  still  more  in  those  of  others,  has  not  dimi- 


*  combined  with  a  deference  for.  j-  they.  J  mature. 

\  persons.  j|  impelled.  IT  whatever. 

**  my.  f-f-  to  retire.  \\  in. 


190  APPENDIX. 

nished  in  me  the  diffidence  of  myself — and  every  day  the  increasing 
weight  of  years  admonishes  me  more  and  more  that  the  shade  of. 
retirement  is  as  necessary*  as  it  will  be  welcome  to  me.  Satisfied 
that  if  any  circumstances  have  given  a  peculiar  value  to  my  services, 
they  were  temporary,  I  have  the  consolation  to  believe,  that  while 
inclination  and  prudence  urge  me  to  recede  from  the  political  scene, 
patriotism  does  not  forbid  it.  [May  I  also  have  that  of  knowing  in 
rnyf  retreat,  that  the  involuntary  errors  which  I  have  probably 
committed,  have  been  the  causes  of  no  serious  or  lasting  mischief  to 
my  country,  and  thus  be  spared  the  anguish  of  regrets  which  would 
disturb  the  repose  of  my  retreat  and  embitter  the  remnant  of  my 
life  !  I  may  then  expect  to  realize,  without  alloy,  the  pure  enjoy 
ment  of  partaking,  in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  of  the  benign 
influence  of  good  laws  under  a  free  government ;  the  ultimate  object 
of  all  my  wishes,  and  to  which  I  look  as  the  happy  rewardj  of  our 
mutual  labors  and  dangers.] 

In  looking  forward  to  the  moment  which  is  to  terminate  the 
career  of  my  public  life,  my  sensations  do  not  permit  me  to  sus 
pend  the  deep  acknowledgments  required  by  that  debt  of  gratitude, 
which  I  owe  to  my  beloved  country,  for  the  many  honors  it  has  con 
ferred  upon  me,  still  more  for  the  distinguished  and  steadfast  confi 
dence  it  has  reposed  in  me,  and  for  the  opportunities  it  has  thus 
afforded  me§  of  manifesting  my  inviolable  attachment,  by  services 
faithful  and  persevering — however  the  inadequateness  of  my  faculties 
may  have  ill-seconded  my||  zeal.  If  benefits  have  resulted  to  you, 
my  fellow-citizens,  from  these  services,  let  it  always  be  remembered 
to  your  praise,  and  as  an  instructive  example  in  our  annals,  that  the 
constancy  of  your  support  amidst  appearances^  dubious,  vicissitudes 
of  fortune  often  discouraging,  and  in  situations  in  which,  not  unfre- 


*  to  me.  t  retirement.  J  T  hope.  §  I  have  thence  enjoyed. 

||  have  rendered  their  efforts  unequal  to  my — disproportional. 

H  under  circumstances  in  which  the  passions,  agitated  in  every  direction,  were  liable 
to  the  greatest  fluctuations. 


APPENDIX.  191 

quently,  want  of  success  has  seconded  the  criticisms  of  malevolence,* 
was  the  essential  prop  of  the  efforts  and  the  guarantee  of  the  mea 
sures  by  which  they  were  achieved. 

Profoundly  penetrated  with  this  idea,  I  shall  carry  it  with  me  to 
my  retirement,  and  to  my  grave,  as  a  lively  incitement  to  unceasing 
vows  (the  only  returns  I  can  henceforth  make)  that  Heaven  may 
continue  to  you  the  choicest  tokens  of  its  beneficence,  merited  by 
national  piety  and  morality — that  your  union  and  brotherly  affec 
tion  may  be  perpetual — that  the  free  Constitution,  which  is  the 
work  of  your  own  hands,  may  be  sacredly  maintained — that  its  ad 
ministration  in  every  department  may  be  stamped  with  wisdom  and 
virtue — that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the  people  of  these  States, 
under  the  auspices  of  liberty  may  be  made  complete,  by  so  careful 
a  preservation,  and  so  prudent  a  use  of  this  blessing,  as  will  acquire 
them  the  glorious  satisfaction  of  recommending  it  to  the  affection — 
the  praise — and  the  adoption  of  every  nation  which  is  yet  a  stranger 
to  it. 

Here,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  stop :  but  a  solicitude  for  your  welfare^ 
which  cannot  end  but  with  my  life,  and  the  fear  that  there  may 
exist  projects  unfriendly  to  it,  against  which  it  may  be  necessary 
you  should  be  guarded,  urge  me  in  taking  leave  of  you,  to  offer  to 
your  solemn  consideration  and  frequent  review,  some  sentiments,  the 
result  of  mature  reflection  confirmed  by  observation  and  experience, 
which  appear  to  me  essential  to  the  permanency  of  your  felicity  as 
a  people.  These  will  be  offered  with  the  more  freedom,  as  you  can 
only  see  in  them  the  disinterested  advice  of  a  parting  friend,  who 
can  have  no  personal  motive  to  tincture  or  bias  his  counsel. 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with  every  fibre  of  your 
hearts,  no  recommendation  is  necessary  to  fortify  your  attachment 
TO  IT.  Next  to  this,  that  unity  of  government  which  constitutes 
you  one  people,  claims  your  vigilant  care  and  guardianship — as  a 


sometimes. 


192  APPENDIX. 

main  pillar  of  your  real  independence,  of  your  peace,  safety,  free 
dom,  and  happiness. 

[This  being  the  point  in  your  political  fortress,  against  which  the 
batteries  of  internal  and  external  enemies  will  be  most  constantly 
and  actively,  however  covertly  and  insidiously  levelled,  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  you  should  appreciate,  in  its  full  force,  the 
immense  value  of  your  political  union  to  your  national  and  individual 
happiness — that  you  should  cherish  towards  it  an  affectionate  and 
immovable  attachment,  and  that  you  should  watch  for  its  preserva 
tion  with  jealous  solicitude.] 

For  this,  you  have  every  motive  of  sympathy  and  interest. 
Children  for  the  most  part  of  a  common  country,  that  country 
v  claims  and  ought  to  concentrate  your  affections.  The  name  of 
American  must  always  gratify  and  exalt  the  just  pride  of  patriotism, 
more  than  any  denomination  which  can  be  derived  from  local  discri 
minations.  You  have  with  slight  shades  of  difference  the  same 
religion,  manners,  habits,  and  political  institutions  and  principles — 
you  have,  in  a  common  cause,  fought  and  triumphed  together.  The 
independence  and  liberty  you  enjoy  are  the  work  of  joint  councils, 
efforts,  dangers,  sufferings,  and  successes.  By  your  union  you 
achieved  them,  by  your  union  you  will  most  effectually  maintain 
them. 

The  considerations  which  address  themselves  to  your  sensibility, 
are  greatly*  strengthenedf  by  those  which  apply  to  your  interest. 
Here,  every  portion  of  our  country  will  find  the  most  urgent  and 
commanding  motives  for  guarding  and  preserving  the  union  of  the 
whole. 

The  North  inj  intercourse  with  the  South  under  the  equal  laws 
of  one  government,  will,  in  the  productions  of  the  latter,  many  of 
them  peculiar,  find  vast  additional  resources  of  maritime  and  com 
mercial  enterprise.§  The  South,  in  the  same  intercourse,  will  share 

*  even.  f  outweighed.  $  free  and  unfettered. 

§  and  precious  materials  of  their  manufacturing  industry. 


APPENDIX.  193 

in  the  benefits  of  the  agency  of  the  North,  will  find  its  agriculture 
promoted  and  its  commerce  extended  by  turning  into  its  own  chan 
nels  those  means  of  navigation  which  the  North  more  abundantly 
affords ;  and  while  it  contributes  to  extend  the  national  navigation, 
will  participate  in  the  protection  of  a  maritime  strength  to  which 
itself  is  unequally  adapted.  The  East,  in  a  like  intercourse  with 
the  West,*  finds  a  valuable  vent  for  the  commodities  which  it  brings 
from  abroad  or  manufactures  at  home.  The  West  derives  through 
this  channel  an  essential  supply  of  its  wants ;  and  what  is  far  more 
important  to  it,  it  must  owe  the  secure  and  permanent  enjoyment  of 
the  indispensable  outlets  for  its  own  productions  to  the  weight, 
influence,  and  maritime  resources  of  the  Atlantic  States. f  The 
tenure  by  which  it  could  hold  this  advantage  either  from  its  own 
separate  strength,  or  by  an  apostate  and  unnatural  connection  with 
any  foreign  nation,  must  be  intrinsically  and  necessarily  precarious, 
[at  every  moment  liable  to  be  disturbed  by  thej  combinations  of 
those  primary§  interests  which  constantly  regulate  the  conduct  of 
every  portion  of  Europe,]  and  where  every  part  finds  a  particular 
interest  in  the  Union.  All  the  parts  of  our  country  will  find  in 
their  Union||  strength,  proportional  security  from  external  danger, 
less  frequent  interruption  of  their  peace  with  foreign  nations ;  and 
what  is  far  more  valuable,  an  exemption  from  those  broils  and  wars 
between  the  parts  if  disunited,  which,  then,  our  rivalships,  fomented 
by  foreign  intrigue  or  the  opposite  alliances  with  foreign  nations 
engendered  by  their  mutual  jealousies,  would  inevitably  produce.^ 
These  considerations  speak  a  conclusive  language  to  every  vir- 


*  and  in  the  progressive  improvement  of  internal  navigation  will  more  and  more  find. 

t  directed  by  an  indissoluble  community  of  interests. 

J  fluctuating.  §  European. 

||  greater  independence,  from  the  superior  abundance  and  variety  of  production  inci 
dent  to  the  diversity  of  soil  and  climate.  All  the  parts  of  it  must  find  in  the  aggregate 
assemblage  and  reaction  of  their  mutual  population — production. 

IT  consequent  exemption  from  the  necessity  of  those  military  establishments  upon  a 
large  scale,  which  bear  in  every  country  so  menacing  an  aspect  towards  liberty. 

13 


194  APPENDIX. 

tuous  and  considerate  mind.  They  place  the  continuance  of  our 
Union  among  the  first  objects  of  patriotic  desire.  Is  there  a  doubt 
whether  a  common  government  can  long  embrace  so  extensive  a 
sphere  ?  Let  time  and  experience  decide  the  question.  Speculation 
in  such  a  case  ought  not  to  be  listened  to.  And  'tis  rational  to 
hope  that  the  auxiliary*  governments  of  the  subdivisions,  with  a 
proper  organization  of  the  whole,  will  secure  a  favorable  issue  to 
the  experiment.  ['Tis  allowable  to  believe  that  the  spirit  of  party, 
the  intrigues  of  foreign  nations,  the  corruption  and  the  ambition  of 
individuals,  are  likely  to  prove  more  formidable  adversaries  to  the 
unity  of  our  empire,  than  any  inherent  difficulties  in  the  scheme. 
'Tis  against  these  that  the  guardsf  of  national  opinion,  national 
sympathy,  national  prudence  and  virtue,  are  to  be  erected.]  With 
such  obvious  motives  to  union,  there  will  be  always  cause  from  the 
fact  itself  to  distrust  the  patriotism  of  those  whoj  may  endeavor  to 
weaken  its  bands.  And  by  all  the  love  I  bear  you,  my  fellow- 
citizens,  I  conjure§  you,  as||  often  as  it  appears,  to  frown  upon  the 
attempt. 

[Besides  the  more  serious  causes  which  have  been  hinted  at,  as 
endangering  our  Union,  there  is  another  less  dangerous,  but  against 
which  it  is  necessary  to  be  on  our  guard ;  I  mean  the  petulance  of 
party  T  differences  of  opinion.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  the  irri 
tations  which  these  excite,  vent  themselves  in  declarations  that  the 
different  parts  of  the  Union  are  ill-assorted  and  cannot  remain 
together — in  menaces  from  the  inhabitants  of  one  part  to  those  of 
another,  that  it  will  be  dissolved  by  this  or  that  measure.  Intima 
tions  of  the  kind  are  as  indiscreet  as  they  are  intemperate.  Though 
frequently  made  with  levity  and  without  being  in  earnest,  they  have 
a  tendency  to  produce  the  consequence  which  they  indicate.  They 
teach  the  minds  of  men  to  consider  the  Union  as  precarious,  as  an 


*  agency  of.  f  mounds. 

J  in  any  quarter.  §  exhort — (written  firft.) 

II  "  often" — instead  of  "  far."  IT  collisions  and  disgusts. 


APPENDIX.  195 

object  to  which  they  are  not  to  attach  their  hopes  and  fortunes,  and 
thus  weaken  the  sentiment  in  its  favor.  By  rousing  the  resentment 
and  alarming  the  pride  of  those  to  whom  they  are  addressed,  they 
set  ingenuity  to  work  to  depreciate  the  value  of  the  object,  and  to 
discover  motives  of  indifference  to  it.  This  is  not  wise.  Prudence 
demands  that  we  should  habituate  ourselves  in  all  our  words  and 
actions  to  reverence  the  Union  as  a  sacred  and  inviolable  palladium 
of  our  happiness,  and  should  discountenance  whatever  can  lead  to  a 
suspicion  that  it  can  in  any  event  be  abandoned.] 

['Tis  matter  of  serious  concern  that  parties  in  this  country,  for 
some  time  past,  have  been  too  much  characterized  by  geographical 
discriminations — Northern    and    Southern    States,    Atlantic    and   7 
Western  country.      These    discriminations,*  which    are   the  mere/ 
artifice  of  the  spirit  of  party,  (always  dexterous  to  avail  itself  of  i 
every  source  of  sympathy,  of  every  handle  by  which  the  passions, 
can  be  taken  hold  of,  and  which  has  been  careful  to  turn  to  account 
the  circumstance  of  territorial  vicinity,J)  have  furnished  an  argu 
ment  against  the  Union  as  evidence  of  a  real  difference  of  local 
interests  and  views,  and  serve  to  hazard  it,  by  organizing  large 
districts  of  country  under  the  direction  of  §  different  factions,  whose 
passions  and  prejudices,  rather  than  the  true  interests  of  the  coun 
try,  will  be  too  apt  to  regulate  the  use  of  their  influence.     If  it  be 
possible  to  correct  this  poison  in  the  affairs  of  our  country,  it  is 
worthy  the  best  endeavors  of  moderate  and  virtuous  men  to  effect  it.] 
One  of  the  expedients  which  the  partisans  of  faction  employ  to 
wards  strengthening  their  influence  by  local  discriminations,  ||  is  to 
misrepresent  the  opinions  and  views  of  rival  districts.     The  people 
at  large  cannot  be  too  much  on  their  guard  against  the  jealousies 
which  grow  out  of  these  misrepresentations.     They  tend  to  render 
aliens  to  each  other  those  who  ought  to  be  tied  together  by  fraternal 
affection.     The  western  country  have  lately  had  a  useful  lesson  on 


*  of  party.  f  sympathy  of.  J  neighborhood. 

§  the  leaders  of.  ||  within  local  spheres. 


196  APPENDIX. 

this  subject.  They  have  seen  in  the  negotiation  by  the  Executive, 
and  in  the  unanimous  ratification  of  the  treaty  with  Spain  by  the 
Senate,  and  in  the  universal  satisfaction  at  that  event  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,  a  decisive  proof  how  unfounded  have  been  the  suspi 
cions  instilled*  in  them  of  a  policy  in  the  Atlantic  States,  and  in 
the  different  departments  of  the  General  Government,  hostile  to 
their  interests  in  relation  to  the  Mississippi.  They  have  seen  two 
treaties  formed,  which  secure  to  them  everything  that  they  could 
desire  to  confirm  their  prosperity.  Will  they  not  henceforth  rely 
for  the  preservation  of  these  advantages  on  that  Union  by  which 
they  were  procured  ?  Will  they  not  reject  those  counsellors  who 
would  render  them  alien  to  their  brethren  and  connect  them  with 
aliens  ? 

To  the  duration  and  efficacy  of  your  Union,  a  government  ex 
tending  over  the  whole  is  indispensable.  No  alliances,  however 
strict,  between  the  parts  could  be  an  adequate  substitute.  These 
could  not  fail  to  be  liable  to  the  infractions  and  interruptions  which 
all  alliances  in  all  times  have  suffered.  Sensible  of  this  important 
truth,  you  have  lately  established  a  Constitution  of  general  govern 
ment,  better  calculated  than  the  former  for  an  intimate  union,  and 
more  adequate  to  the  duration  of  your  common  concerns.  This 
government,  the  offspring  of  your  own  choice,  uninfluenced  and 
unawed,  completely  free  in  its  principles,  in  the  distribution  of  its 
powers,  uniting  energy  with  safety,  and  containing  in  itself  a  provi 
sion  for  its  own  amendment,  is  well  entitled  to  your  confidence  and 
support.  Respect  for  its  authority,  compliance  with  its  laws,  acqui 
escence  in  its  measures,  f  are  duties  dictated  by  the  fundamental 
maxims  of  true  liberty.  The  basis  of  our  political  systems  is  the 
right  of  the  people  to  make  and  to  alter  their  constitutions  of 
government.  But  the  Constitution  for  the  time,  and  until  changed 
by  an  explicit  and  authentic  act  of  the  whole  people,  is  sacredly 
binding  upon  all.  The  very  idea  of  the  right  and  power  of  the 

*  propagated  among.  t  ordinary  management  of  affairs  to  be  left  to  represent. 


APPENDIX.  197 

people  to  establish  government,  presupposes  the  duty  of  every  indi 
vidual  to  obey  the  established  government. 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  laws — all  combinations 
and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible  character,  with  the  real 
design  to  counteract,*  control, f  or  awe  the  regular J  action  of  the 
constituted  authorities,  are  contrary  to  this  fundamental  principle, 
and  of  the  most  fatal  tendency.  They  serve  to  organize  faction,  § 
and  to  put  in  the  stead  of  the  delegated  will  of  the  whole  nation  the 
will  of  a  party,  often  a  small||  minority  of  the  whole  community ; 
and  according  to  the  alternate  triumph  of  different  parties,  to  make 
the  public  administration  reflect  the^f  schemes  and  projects  of  fac 
tion  rather  than  the  wholesome  plans  of  common  councils  and  deli 
berations.  However  combinations  or  associations  of  this  description 
may  occasionally  promote  popular  ends  and  purposes,  they  are  likely 
to  produce,  in  the  course  of  time  and  things,  the  most  effectual 
engines  by  which  artful,  ambitious,  and  unprincipled  men  will  be 
enabled  to  subvert  the  power  of  the  people  and  usurp  the  reins  of 
government. 

Towards  the  preservation  of  your  government  and  the  permanency 
of  your  present  happy  state,  it  is  not  only  requisite  that  you  steadily 
discountenance  irregular  oppositions  to  its  authority,  but  that  you 
should  be  on  your  guard  against  the  spirit  of  innovation  upon  its 
principles,  however  specious  the  pretexts.  One  method  of  assault 
may  be,  to  effect  alterations  in  the  forms  of  the  Constitution  tend 
ing  to  impair  the  energy  of  the  system,  and  so  to  undermine  what 
cannot  be  directly  overthrown.  In  all  the  changes  to  which  you 
may  be  invited,  remember  that  time  and  habit  are  as  necessary  to 
fix  the  true  character  of  governments  as  of  any  other  human  insti 
tutions  ;  that  experience  is  the  surest  standard  by  which  the  real 
tendency  of  existing  constitutions  of  government  can  be  tried ;  that 


*  direct.  j-  influence. 

J  deliberation  or.  §  to  give  it  an  artificial  force. 

||  but  artful  and  enterprising.  IT  ill-concerted. 


198  APPENDIX. 

changes  upon*  the  credit  of  mere  hypothesis  and  opinion  exposes 
you  to  perpetual  change  from  the  successive  and  endless  variety  of 
hypothesis  and  opinion.  And  remember  also,f  that  for  the  effica 
cious  management  of  your  common  interests,  in  a  country  so  exten 
sive  as  ours,  a  government  of  as  much  force  and  strength  as  is 
consistent  with  the  perfect  security  of  liberty  is  indispensable. 
Liberty  itself  will  find  in  such  a  government,  with  powers  properly 
distributed  and  arranged,  its  surest  guardian  and  protector.  [In 
my  opinion,  the  real  danger  in  our  system  is,  that  the  General 
Government,  organized  as  at  present,  will  prove  too  weak,  rather 
than  too  powerful.] 

I  have  already  observed  the  danger  to  be  apprehended  from 
founding  our  parties  on  geographical  discriminations.  Let  me  now 
enlarge  the  view  of  this  point,  and  caution  you  in  the  most  solemn 
manner  against  the  baneful  effects  of  party  spirit  in  general.  This 
spirit  unfortunately  is  inseparable  from  human  nature,  and  has  its 
root  in  the  strongest  passions  of  the  human  heart.  It  exists  under 
different  shapes  in  all  governments,  butj  in  those  of  the  popular 
form  it  is  always  seen  in  its  utmost  vigor  and  rankness,  and  is  their 
worst  enemy.  [In  republics  of  narrow  extent,  it  is  not  difficult  for 
those  who  at  any  time  possess  the  reins  of  administration,  or  even 
for  partial  combinations  of  men,  who  from  birth,  riches,  and  other 
sources  of  distinction,  have  an  extraordinary  influence,  by  possess 
ing  or  acquiring  the  direction  of  the  military  force,  or  by  sudden 
efforts  of  partisans  and  followers  to  overturn  the  established  order 
of  things,  and  effect  a  usurpation.  But  in  republics  of  large  extent, 
the  one  or  the  other  is  scarcely  possible.  The  powers  and  opportu 
nities  of  resistance  of  a  numerous  and  wide-extended  nation  defy 
the  successful  efforts  of  the  ordinary  military  force,  or  of  any  col- 
lections§  which  wealth  and  patronage  may  call  to  their  aid,  espe 
cially  if  there  be  no  city  of  overbearing  force,  resources,  and  influ- 


facility  in.  f  always. 

in  different  degrees  stifled,  controlled,  or  repressed.         §  assemblages. 


APPENDIX.  199 

ence.  In  such  republics  it  is  perhaps  safe  to  assert,  that  the  conflicts 
of  popular  faction  offer  the  only  avenues  to  tyranny  and  usurpation.] 
The  domination  of  one  faction  over  another,  stimulated  by  that 
spirit  of  revenge  which  is  apt  to  be  gradually  engendered,  and  which 
in  different  ages  and  countries  has  produced  the  greatest  enormities, 
is  itself  a  frightful  despotism.  But  this  leads  at  length  to  a  more 
formal  and  permanent  despotism.  The  disorders  and  miseries  which 
result,  predispose  the  minds  of  men  to  seek  repose  and  security  in 
the  absolute  power  of  a  single  man ;  and  the*  leader  of  a  prevailing 
faction,  more  able  or  more  fortunate  than  his  competitors,  turns  this 
disposition  to  the  purposes  of  an  ambitious  and  criminal  self-aggran 
dizement. 

Without  looking  forward  to  such  an  extremity  (which,  however, 
ought  not  to  be  out  of  sight),  the  ordinary  and  continual  mischiefs 
of  the  spirit  of  party  make  it  the  interest  and  the  duty  of  a  wise 
people  to  discountenance  and  repress  it. 

It  serves  always  to  distract  the  councils  and  enfeeble  the  admi 
nistration  of  the  government.  It  agitates  the  community  with 
ill-founded  jealousies  and  false  alarms. f  It  opens  inlets  for  foreign 
corruption  and  influence,  which  find  an  easy  access  [through  the 
channels  of  party  passions,  and  cause  the  true  policy  and  interest 
of  our  own  country  to  be  made  subservient  to  the  policy  and  interest 
of  one  and  another  foreign  nation ;  sometimes  enslaving  our  ow^n 
government  to  the  will  of  a  foreign  government]. 

There  is  an  opinion  that  parties  in  free  countries  are  salutary 
checks  upon  the  administration  of  the  government,  and  serve  to 
invigorate  the  spirit  of  liberty.  This,  within  certain  limits,  is  true; 
and  in  governments  of  a  monarchical  character  or  bias,  patriotism 
may  look  with  some  favor  on  the  spirit  of  party.  But  in  those  of 
the  popular  kind,  in  those  purely  elective,  it  is  a  spirit  not  to  be 


f  embittering  one  part  of  the  community  against  another,  and  producing  occasionally 
riot  and  insurrection. 


200  APPENDIX. 

fostered  or  encouraged.  From  the  natural  tendency  of  sucli  govern 
ments,  it  is  certain  there  will  always  be  enough  of  it  for  every  salu 
tary  purpose,  and  there  being  constant  danger  of  excess,  the  effort 
ought  to  be,  by  the  force  of  public  opinion,  to  mitigate  and  correct 
it.  'Tis  a  fire  which  *cannot  be  quenched,  but  demandsf  a  uniform 
vigilance  to  prevent  its  bursting  into  a  flame — lest  it  should  not 
only  warm,  but  consume. 

It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits  of  thinking  of  the 
people  should  tend  to  produce  caution  in  their  public  agents  in  the 
several  departments  of  government,  to  retain  each  within  its  proper 
sphere,  and  not  to  permit  one  to  encroach  upon  another, — that 
every  attempt  of  the  kind,  from  whatever  quarter,  should  meet  with 
the  discountenance^  of  the  community,  and  that,  in  every  case  in 
which  a  precedent  of  encroachment  shall  have  been  given,  a  cor 
rective  be  sought  in  [revocation  be  effected  by]  a  careful  attention 
to  the  next  choice§  of  public  agents.  The  spirit  of  encroachment 
tends  to  absorb ||  the  powers  of  the  several  branches  and  depart 
ments  into  one,  and  thus  to  establish,  under  wrhatever  forms,  a 
despotism.  A  just  knowledge  of  the  human  heart,  of  that  love 
of  power  which  predominates  in  it,  is  alone  sufficient  to  estab 
lish  this  truth.  Experiments,  ancient  and  modern,  some  in  our 
own  country  and  under  our  own  eyes,  serve  to  confirm  it. 
If,  in  the  public  opinion,  the  distribution  of  the  constitutional 
powers  be  in  any  instance  wrong,  or  inexpedient — let  it  be  corrected 
by  the  authority  of  the  people  in  a  legitimate  constitutional  course. 
Let  there  be  no  change  by  usurpation,  for  though  this  may  be  the 
instrument  of  good  in  one  instance,  it  is  the  ordinary T  instrument 
of  the  destruction**  of  free  government — and  the  influence  of  the 
precedent  is  always  infinitely  more  pernicious  than  anything  which 
it  may  achieve  can  be  beneficial. 


*  riot  to.  t  demanding.  J  reprobation. 

§  election.  ||  and  consolidate.  IT  and  natural. 

**  death. 


APPENDIX.  201 

In  all  those  dispositions  which  promote  political  happiness,*  reli 
gion  and  morality  are  essential  props.  In  vain  does  hef  claim  the 
praise  of  patriotism,  who  labors  to  subvert  or  undermine  these  great 
pillars  of  human  happiness,  these  firmest  foundations  of  the  duties 
of  men  and  citizens.  The  mere  politician,  equally  with  the  pious 
man,  ought  to  respect  and  cherish  them.  A  volume  could  not  trace! 
all  their  connections  with  private  and  public  happiness. 

Let  it  simply  be  asked,  where  is  the  security  for  property,  for 
reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense  of  moral  and  religious  obligation 
deserts  the  oaths  which  are  ^administered  in  courts  of  justice? 
Nor  ought  we  to  flatter  ourselves  that  morality  can  be  separated 
from  religion.  Concede  as  much  as  may  be  asked  to  the  effect  of 
refined  education  in  minds  of  peculiar  structure — can  we  believe — 
can  we  in  prudence  suppose  that  national  morality  can  be  maintained 
in  exclusion  of  religious  principles  ?  Does  it  not  require  the  aid  of 
a  generally  received  and  divinely  authoritative  religion  ? 

'Tis  essentially  true  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a  main  and  neces 
sary  spring  of  popular  or  republican  governments.  The  rule,  indeed, 
extends  with  more  or  less  force  to  all  free  governments.  Who  that 
is  a  prudent  and  sincere  friend  to  them,  can  look  with  indifference 
on  the  ravages  which  are  making  in  the  foundation  of  the  fabric — 
religion  ?  The  uncommon  means  which  of  late  have  been  directed 
to  this  fatal  end,  seem  to  make  it  in  a  particular  manner  the  duty 
of  the  retiring  chief  of  a  nation  to  warn  his  country  against  tasting 
of  the  poisonous  draught. 

[Cultivate,  also,  industry  and  frugality.  They  are  auxiliaries  of 
good  morals,  and  great  sources  of  private  and  national  prosperity. 
Is  there  not  room  for  regret,  that  our  propensity  to  expense  exceeds 
the  maturity  of  our  country  for  expense  ?  Is  there  not  more  luxury 
among  us,  in  various  classes,  than  suits  the  actual  period  of  our 
national  progress  ?  Whatever  may  be  the  apology  for  luxury  in  a 
country  mature  in  all  the  arts  which  are  its  ministers  and  the  means 
of  national  opulence,  can  it  promote  the  advantage  of  a  young  agri- 

*  prosperity.  -j-  that  man.  J  instruments  of  investigation. 


202  APPENDIX. 

cultural  country,  little   advanced  in  manufactures,   and  not  much 
advanced  in  wealth  ?*] 

Cherish  public  credit  as  a  mean  of  strength  and  security.  As 
one  method  of  preserving  it,  use  it  as  little  as  possible.  Avoid  oc 
casions  of  expense  by  cultivating  peace, — remembering  always  that 
the  preparation  against  danger,  by  timely  and  provident  disburse 
ments,  is  often  a  mean  of  avoiding  greater  disbursements  to  repel  it. 
Avoid  the  accumulation  of  debt  by  avoiding  occasions  of  expense, 
and  by  vigorous  exertions  in  time  of  peace  to  discharge  the  debts 
which  unavoidable  wars  may  have  occasioned,  not  transferring  to 
posterity  the  burthen  which  we  ought  to  bear  ourselves.  Recollect, 
that  towards  the  payment  of  debts  there  must  be  revenue,  that  to 
have  revenue  there  must  be  taxes,  that  it  is  impossible  to  devise 
taxes  which  are  not,  more  or  less,  inconvenient  and  unpleasant — that 
they  are  always  a  choice  of  difficulties — that  the  intrinsic  embarrass 
ment  which  never  fails  to  attend  a  selection  of  objects,  ought  to  be 
a  motive  for  a  candid  construction  of  the  conduct  of  the  government 
in  making  it — and  that  a  spirit  of  acquiescence  in  those  measures 
for  obtaining  revenue  which  the  public  exigencies  dictate,  is,  in  an 
especial  manner,  the  duty  and  interest  of  the  citizens  of  every 
State. 

[Cherish  good  faith  and  justice  towards,  and  peace  and  harmony 
with,  all  nations.  Religion  and  morality  enjoin  this  conduct,  and 
it  cannot  be  but  that  true  policy  equally  demands  it.]  It  will  be 
worthy  of  a  free,  enlightened,  and,  at  no  distant  period,  a  great 
nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the  magnanimous  and  too  novel  example 
of  a  people  invariably  governed  byf  those  exalted  views.  Who  can 
doubt  that  in  a  long  course  of  time  and  events  the  fruits  of  such  a 
conduct  would  richly  repay  any  temporary  advantages  which  might 
be  lost  by  a  steady  adherence  to  the  plan  ?  Can  it  be  that  Provi 
dence  has  not  connected  the  permanent  felicity  of  a  nation  with  its 
virtue  ?  The  experiment  is  recommended  by  every  sentiment  which 


*  in  the  infancy  of  the  arts,  and  certainly  not  in  the  manhood  of  wealth, 
t  exalted  justice  and  benevolence. 


APPENDIX.  203 

ennobles  human  nature. — Alas !    is  it  rendered  impossible   by  its 
vices  ? 

Towards  the  execution  of  such  a  plan,  *nothing  is  more  essential 
than  that  fantipathies  against  particular  nations  and  passionate  at 
tachments  for  others,  should  be  avoided — and  that  instead  of  them 

we  should  cultivate  just  and  amicable  feelings  towards  all 

That  nation,  which  indulges  towards  another  an  habitual  hatred  or 

an  habitual  fondness   is,   in    some  degree,  a  slave It  is  a 

slave  to  its  animosity,  or  to  its  affection — either  of  which  is  sufficient 
to  lead  it  astray  from  its  duty  and  interest.  [Antipathy  against  one 
nation,  which  never  fails  to  beget  a  similar  sentiment  in  the  other,] 
disposes  each  more  readily  to  offer  injury  and  insult  to  the  other,  to 
lay  hold  of  slight  causes  of  umbrage,  and  to  be  haughty  and  un- 
tractable,  when  accidental  or  trifling  differences  arise.  Hence  fre 
quent  quarrels;);  and  bitter  and  obstinate  contests.  The  nation, 
urged  by  resentment  and  rage,  sometimes  impels  the  government  to 
war,  contrary  to  its  own  calculations  of  policy.  The  government 
sometimes  participates  in  this  propensity,  and  does  through  passion, 
what  reason  would  forbid  at  other  times ;  it  makes  the  animosity  of 
the  nations  subservient  to  hostile  projects,  which  originate  in  ambi 
tion  and  other  sinister  motives.  The  peace,  often,  and  sometimes 
the  liberty  of  nations,  has  been  the  victim  of  this  cause. 

In  like  manner,§  a  passionate  attachment  of  one  nation  to  another 
produces  multiplied  ills.  Sympathy  for  the  favorite  nation,  pro- 
motingH  the  illusion  of  a  supposed  common  interest,  in  cases  where 
it  does  not  exist,  ^fthe  enmities  of  the  one  betrays  into  a  participa 
tion  in  its  quarrels  and  wars,  without  adequate  inducements  or  jus 
tifications.  It  leads  to  the  concession  of  privileges  to  one  nation, 

*  it  is  very  material. 

t  that  while  we  entertain  proper  impressions  of  particular  cases,  of  friendly  or  un 
friendly  conduct  of  different  foreign  nations  towards  us,  we  nevertheless  avoid  fixed 
and  rooted  antipathies  against  any,  or  passionate  attachments  for  any ;  instead  of  these 
cultivating,  as  a  general  rule,  just  and  amicable  feelings  towards  all. 

J  broils.  §  So  likewise.  ||  facilitating.  IT  and  communicating  to  one. 


204  APPENDIX. 

and  to  the  denial  of  them  to  others — which  is  apt  doubly  to  injure 
the  nation  making  the  concession,  by  an  unnecessary  yielding  of 
what  ought  to  have  been  retained,  and  by  exciting  jealousy,  ill-will, 
and  retaliation  in  the  party  from  whom  an  equal  privilege  is  with 
held.  And  it  gives  to  ambitious,  corrupted*  citizens,  who  devote 
themselves  to  the  views  of  the  favorite  foreign  power,  facility  in 
betraying  or  sacrificing  the  interests  of  their  own  country,  even 
with  popularity,t  gilding  withj 

As  avenues  to  foreign  influence  in  innumerable  ways,  such  attach 
ments  are  peculiarly  alarming  to  the  enlightened,  independent  pa 
triot.  How  many  opportunities  do  they  afford  to  intrigue  with 
domestic  factions,  to  practise  with  success  the  arts  of  seduction,  to 
mislead§  the  public  opinion,  to  influence  or  awe  the  public  councils? 
Such  an  attachment  of  a  small  or  weak,  towards  a  great  and  power 
ful  nation,  destines  the  former  to  revolve  round  the  latter  as  its 
satellite. 

Against  the  mischiefs  of  foreign  influence  all  the  jealousy  of  a 
free  people  ought  to  be  constantly||  exerted  ;^f  but  the  jealousy  of  it 
to  be  useful  must  be  impartial,  else  it  becomes  an  instrument  of  the 
very  influence  to  be  avoided  instead  of  a  defence**  against  it. 

Excessive  partiality  for  one  foreign  nation,  and  excessive  dislike 
of  another,  leads  to  see  danger  only  on  one  side,  and  serves  to 
veilff  the  arts  of  influence  on  the  other.  Real  patriots,  who  resist 
the  intrigues  of  the  favorite,  become  suspected  and  odious.  Its  tools 
and  dupes  usurp  the  applause  and  confidence  of  the  people  to  betray 
their  interests. 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us  in  regard  to  foreign  nations, 


*  or  deluded.  t  without  odium. 

J  the  appearance  of  a  virtuous  impulse,  the  base  yieldings  of  ambition  or  corruption. 
§  "  mislead  "  for  "  misdirect."  ||  continually. 

IT  all  history  and  experience  in  different  ages  and  nations  has  proved  that  foreign 
influence  is  one  of  the  most  baneful  foes  of  republican  government. 
**  guard.  ft  antl  second. 


APPENDIX.  205 

ought  to  be  to  have  as  little  political  connection  with  them  as  pos 
sible.  So  far  as  we  have  already  formed  engagements,  let  them  be 
fulfilled  with  circumspection,  indeed,  but  with  perfect  good  faith ; 
here*  let  it  stop. 

Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  which  have  none*  or  a  very 
remote  relation  to  us.  Hence  she  must  be  involved  in  frequent  con 
tests,  the  causes  of  which  will  be  essentially  foreign  to  us.  Hence, 
therefore,  it  must  necessarily  be  unwise  on  our  part  to  implicate 
ourselves  by  an  artificial  connection  in  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of 
European  politics — in  the  combination  and  collisions  of  her  friend 
ships  or  enmities. 

Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invites  us  to  a  different  course, 
and  enables  us  to  pursue  it.  If  we  remain  a  united  people,  under 
an  efficient  government,  the  period  is  not  distant  when  we  may  defy 
material  injury  from  external  annoyance  —  when  we  may  take 
such  an  attitude  as  will  cause  the  neutrality  we  shall  at  any  time 
resolve  to  observe,  to  be  violated  with  caution — when  it  will  be  the 
interest  of  belligerent  nations,  under  the  impossibility  of  making 
acquisitions  upon  us,  to  be  very  careful  how  either  forced  us  to 
throw  our  weight  into  the  opposite  scale — when  we  may  choose 
peace  or  war,  as  our  interest,  guided  by  justice,  shall  dictate. 

Why  should  we  forego  the  advantages  of  so  felicitous  a  situation  ? 
Why  quit  our  own  ground  to  stand  upon  foreign  ground  ?  Why,  by 
interweaving  our  destiny  with  any  part  of  Europe,  should  we  en 
tangle  our  prosperity  and  peace  in  the  nets  of  European  ambition, 
rivalship,  interest,  or  caprice  ? 

Permanent  alliance,  intimate  connection  with  any  part  of  the 
foreign  world,  is  to  be  avoided ;  so  far,  I  mean,  as  we  are  now  at 
liberty  to  do  it ;  for  let  me  never  be  understood  as  patronizing  infi 
delity  to  pre-existing  engagements.  These  must  be  observed  in 
their  true  and  genuine  sense. f 

*  but  there. 

|  But  'tis  not  necessary,  nor  will  it  be  prudent,  to  extend  them.     'Tis  our  true  policy, 


206  APPENDIX. 

Harmony,  liberal  intercourse,  and  commerce  with  all  nations,  are 
recommended  by  justice,  humanity,  and  interest.  But  even  our 
commercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal  hand,  neither  seeking  nor 
granting  exclusive  favors  or  preferences — consulting  the  natural 
course  of.  things — diffusing  and  diversifying  by  gentle  means  the 
streams  of  commerce,  but  forcing  nothing — establishing  with  powers 
so  disposed*  temporary")"  rules  of  intercourse,  the  best  that  present 
circumstances  and  mutual  opinion  of  interest  will  permit,  but  tem 
porary  ;  and  liable  to  be  abandoned  or  varied,  as  time,  experience, 
and  future  circumstances  may  dictate — remembermgj  that  it  is  folly 
in  one  nation  to  expect  disinterested  favor  in  another — that  to 
accept§  is  to  part  with  a  portion  of  its  independence,  and  that  it 
may  find  itself  in  the  condition  of  having  given  equivalents  for 
nominal  favors,  and  of  being  reproached  with  ingratitude  in  the 
bargain.  There  can  be  no  greater  error  in  national  policy  than  to 
desire,  expect,  or  calculate  upon  real  favors.  'Tis  an  illusion  that 
experience  must  cure,  that  a  just  pride  ought  to  discard. 
|  In  offering  to  you,  my  countrymen,  these  counsels  of  an  old  and 
affectionate  friend — counsels  suggested  by  laborious  reflection,  and 
matured  by  a  various  experience,  I  dare  not  hope  that  they  will 
make  the  strong  and  lasting  impressions  I  wish — that  they  will  con 
trol  the  current  of  the  passions  or  prevent  our  nation  from  running 
the  course  which  has  hitherto  marked  the  destiny  of  all  nations. 

But||  if  they  may  even  produce  partial  benefit,  some  occasional 
good  .  .  .  that  they  sometimes  recur  to  moderate  the  violence  of 
party  spirit — to  warn  against  the  evils  of  foreign  intrigue — to  guard 


as  a  general  principle,  to  avoid  permanent  or  close  alliances.  Taking  care  always  to 
keep  ourselves  by  suitable  establishments  in  a  respectably  defensive  position,  we  may 
safely  trust  to  occasional  alliances  for  extraordinary  emergencies. 

*  In  order  to  give  to  trade  a  stable  course,  to  define  the  rights  of  our  merchants,  and 
enable  the  government  to  support  them. 

|  and  conventional.  J  always. 

§  any  thing  under  that  character.  |j  I  may  flatter  myself. 


APPENDIX.  207 

against  the  impositions  of  pretended  patriotism — the  having  offered 
them,  must  always  afford  me  a  precious  consolation. 

How  far  in  the  execution  of  my  present  office  I  have  been  guided 
by  the  principles  which  have  been  recommended,*  the  public  records 
and  the  external  evidences  of  my  conduct  must  witness.  My  con 
science  assures  me  that  I  have  at  least  believed  myself  to  be  guided 
by  them. 

In  reference  to  the  present  war  of  Europe,  my  proclamation  of 
the  22d  of  April,  1793,  is  the  key  to  my  plan,  sanctioned  by  your 
approving  voice,  and  that  of  your  Representatives  in  Congress — 
the  spirit  of  that  measure  has  continually  governed  me — uninflu 
enced  and  unawed  by  the  attempts  of  any  of  the  warring  powers, 
their  agents,  or  partisans,  to  deter  or  divert  from  it. 

After  deliberate  consideration,  and  the  best  lights  I  could  obtain 
[and  from  men  who  did  not  agree  in  their  views  of  the  origin,  pro 
gress,  and  nature  of  that  war],  I  was  satisfied  that  our  country, 
under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  had  a  right  and  was  bound 
in  propriety  and  interest  to  take  a  neutral  position.  And  having 
taken  it,  I  determined  asf  should  depend  on  me  to  maintain  it 
steadily  and  firmly.J 

Though  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  administration,  I  am 
unconscious  of  intentional  error — I  am  yet  too  sensible  of  my  own 
deficiencies,  not  to  think  it  possible§  that  I  have  committed  many 
errors — [I  deprecate  the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend] — and  fer 
vently  implore  the  Almighty  to  avert  or  mitigate  them.  I  shall 
carry  with  me,  nevertheless,  the  hope  that  my  motives  will  continue 
to  be  viewed  by  my  country  with  indulgence,  and  that  after  forty- 
five  years  of  my  life,  devoted  with  an  upright  zeal  to  the  public 


*  "  inculcated  "  for  "  recommended."  j"  as  far  as. 

J  Here  a  large  space  is  found  in  the  draught,  evidently  left  for  the  insertion  of  other 
matter. 

§  "  probable  "  for  "  possible." 


208  APPENDIX. 

)    / 

service,  the  faults  of  inadequate  abilities  will  be  consigned  to  obli 
vion,  as  myself  must  soon  be,  to  the  mansions  of  rest. 

[Neither  ambition  nor  interest  has  been  the  impelling  cause  of  my 
actions.  I  never  designedly  misused  any  power  confided  to  me. 
The  fortune  with  which  I  came  into  office,  is  not  bettered  otherwise 
than  by  that  improvement  in  the  value  of  property  which  the 
natural  progress  and  peculiar  prosperity  of  our  country  have  pro 
duced.  I  retire*  with  a  pure  heart, f  with  undefiled  hands,  and 
with  ardent  vows  for  the  happiness  of  a  country,  the  native  soil  of 
myself  and  progenitors  for  four  generations.] 


*  without  cause  for  a  blush. 

f  with  no  alien  sentiment  to  the  ardor  of  those  vows  for  the  happiness  of  his  coun 
try,  which  is  so  natural  to  a  citizen  who  sees  in  it. 


APPENDIX.  209 


No.  IV. 

WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS    TO    THE    PEOPLE   OF   THE 

UNITED  STATES. 

(The  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  xii,  p.  214.) 

FRIENDS  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS, — 

The  period  for  a  new  election  of  a  citizen,  to  administer  the 
executive  government  of  the  United  States,  being  not  far  distant, 
and  the  time  actually  arrived,  when  your  thoughts  must  be  employed 
in  designating  the  person,  who  is  to  be  clothed  with  that  important 
trust,  it  appears  to  me  proper,  especially  as  it  may  conduce  to  a 
more  distinct  expression  of  the  public  voice,  that  I  should  now 
apprise  you  of  the  resolution  I  have  formed,  to  decline  being  consi 
dered  among  the  number  of  those,  out  of  whom  a  choice  is  to  be 
made. 

I  beg  you,  at  the  same  time,  to  do  me  the  justice  to  be  assured, 
that  this  resolution  has  not  been  taken  without  a  strict  regard  to  all 
the  considerations  appertaining  to  the  relation,  which  binds  a  dutiful 
citizen  to  his  country;  and  that,  in  withdrawing  the  tender  of 
service,  which  silence  in  my  situation  might  imply,  I  am  influenced 
by  no  diminution  of  zeal  for  your  future  interest ;  no  deficiency  of 
grateful  respect  for  your  past  kindness ;  but  am  supported  by  a  full 
conviction  that  the  step  is  compatible  with  both. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  continuance  hitherto  in,  the  office  to  which 
your  suffrages  have  twice  called  me,  have  been  a  uniform  sacrifice  of 
inclination  to  the  opinion  of  duty,  and  to  a  deference  for  what  ap 
peared  to  be  your  desire.  I  constantly  hoped,  that  it  would  have 
been  much  earlier  in  my  power,  consistently  with  motives,  which  I 
was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard,  to  return  to  that  retirement,  from 
which  I  had  been  reluctantly  drawn.  The  strength  of  my  inclina- 

14 


210  APPENDIX. 

tion  to  do  this,  previous  to  the  last  election,  had  even  led  to  the 
preparation  of  an  address  to  declare  it  to  you ;  but  mature  reflection 
on  the  then  perplexed  and  critical  posture  of  our  affairs  with  foreign 
nations,  and  the  unanimous  advice  of  persons  entitled  to  my  con 
fidence,  impelled  me  to  abandon  the  idea. 

I  rejoice,  that  the  state  of  your  concerns,  external  as  well  as  in 
ternal,  no  longer  renders  the  pursuit  of  inclination  incompatible 
with  the  sentiment  of  duty,  or  propriety ;  and  am  persuaded,  what 
ever  partiality  may  be  retained  for  my  services,  that,  in  the  present 
circumstances  of  our  country,  you  will  not  disapprove  my  determi 
nation  to  retire. 

The  impressions,  with  which  I  first  undertook  the  arduous  trust, 
were  explained  on  the  proper  occasion.  In  the  discharge  of  this 
trust,  I  will  only  say,  that  I  have,  with  good  intentions,  contributed 
towards  the  organization  and  administration  of  the  government  the 
best  exertions  of  which  a  very  fallible  judgment  was  capable.  Not 
unconscious,  in  the  outset,  of  the  inferiority  of  my  qualifications, 
experience  in  my  own  eyes,  perhaps  still  more  in  the  eyes  of  others, 
has  strengthened  the  motives  to  diffidence  of  myself ;  and  every  day 
the  increasing  weight  of  years  admonishes  me  more  and  more,  that 
the  shade  of  retirement  is  as  necessary  to  me  as  it  will  be  welcome. 
Satisfied,  that,  if  any  circumstances  have  given  peculiar  value  to 
my  services,  they  were  temporary,  I  have  the  consolation  to  believe, 
that,  while  choice  and  prudence  invite  me  to  quit  the  political  scene, 
patriotism  does  not  forbid  it. 

In  looking  forward  to  the  moment,  which  is  intended  to  terminate 
the  career  of  my  public  life,  my  feelings  do  not  permit  me  to  sus 
pend  the  deep  acknowledgment  of  that  debt  of  gratitude,  which  I 
owe  to  my  beloved  country  for  the  many  honors  it  has  conferred 
upon  me ;  still  more  for  the  steadfast  confidence  with  which  it  has 
supported  me ;  and  for  the  opportunities  I  have  thence  enjoyed  of 
manifesting  my  inviolable  attachment,  by  services  faithful  and  per 
severing,  though  in  usefulness  unequal  to  my  zeal.  If  benefits  have 
resulted  to  our  country  from  these  services,  let  it  always  be  remem- 


APPENDIX.  211 

bered  to  your  praise,  and  as  an  instructive  example  in  our  annals, 
that  under  circumstances  in  which  the  passions,  agitated  in  every 
direction,  were  liable  to  mislead,  amidst  appearances  sometimes 
dubious,  vicissitudes  of  fortune  often  discouraging,  in  situations  in 
which  not  unfrequently  want  of  success  has  countenanced  the  spirit 
of  criticism,  the  constancy  of  your  support  was  the  essential  prop 
of  the  efforts,  and  a  guarantee  of  the  plans  by  which  they  were 
effected.  Profoundly  penetrated  with  this  idea,  I  shall  carry  it  with 
me  to  my  grave,  as  a  strong  incitement  to  unceasing  vows  that  Hea 
ven  may  continue  to  you  the  choicest  tokens  of  its  beneficence  ;  that 
your  union  and  brotherly  affection  may  be  perpetual ;  that  the  free 
constitution,  which  is  the  work  of  your  hands,  may  be  sacredly 
maintained ;  that  its  administration  in  every  department  may  be 
stamped  with  wisdom  and  virtue;  that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the 
people  of  these  States,  under  the  auspices  of  liberty,  may  be  made 
complete,  by  so  careful  a  preservation  and  so  prudent  a  use  of  this 
blessing,  as  will  acquire  to  them  the  glory  of  recommending  it  to 
the  applause,  the  affection,  and  adoption  of  every  nation,  which  is 
yet  a  stranger  to  it. 

Here,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  stop.  But  a  solicitude  for  your  wel 
fare,  which  cannot  end  but  with  my  life,  and  the  apprehension  of 
danger,  natural  to  that  solicitude,  urge  me,  on  an  occasion  like  the 
present,  to  offer  to  your  solemn  contemplation,  and  to  recommend 
to  your  frequent  review,  some  sentiments,  which  are  the  result  of 
much  reflection,  of  no  inconsiderable  observation,  and  which  appear 
to  me  all-important  to  the  permanency  of  your  felicity  as  a  People. 
These  will  be  offered  to  you  with  the  more  freedom,  as  you  can  only 
see  in  them  the  disinterested  warnings  of  a  parting  friend,  who  can 
possibly  have  no  personal  motive  to  bias  his  counsel.  Nor  can  I 
forget,  as  an  encouragement  to  it,  your  indulgent  reception  of  my 
sentiments  on  a  former  and  not  dissimilar  occasion. 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with  every  ligament  of  your 
hearts,  no  recommendation  of  mine  is  necessary  to  fortify  or  confirm 
the  attachment. 


212  APPENDIX. 

The  unity  of  Government,  which  constitutes  you  one  people,  is 
also  now  dear  to  you.  It  is  justly  so  ;  for  it  is  a  main  pillar  in  the 
edifice  of  your  real  independence,  the  support  of  your  tranquillity 
at  home,  your  peace  abroad ;  of  your  safety ;  of  your  prosperity ; 
of  that  very  Liberty,  which  you  so  highly  prize.  But  as  it  is  easy 
to  foresee,  that,  from  different  causes  and  from  different  quarters, 
much  pains  will  be  taken,  many  artifices  employed,  to  weaken  in 
your  minds  the  conviction  of  this  truth ;  as  this  is  the  point  in  your 
political  fortress  against  which  the  batteries  of  internal  and  external 
enemies  will  be  most  constantly  and  actively  (though  often  covertly 
and  insidiously)  directed,  it  is  of  infinite  moment,  that  you  should 
properly  estimate  the  immense  value  of  your  national  Union  to 
your  collective  and  individual  happiness ;  that  you  should  cherish  a 
cordial,  habitual,  and  immovable  attachment  to  it;  accustoming 
yourselves  to  think  and  speak  of  it  as  of  the  Palladium  of  your 
political  safety  and  prosperity ;  watching  for  its  preservation  with 
jealous  anxiety ;  discountenancing  whatever  may  suggest  even  a 
suspicion,  that  it  can  in  any  event  be  abandoned ;  and  indignantly 
frowning  upon  the  first  dawning  of  every  attempt  to  alienate  any 
portion  of  our  country  from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties 
which  now  link  together  the  various  parts. 

For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of  sympathy  and  interest. 
Citizens,  by  birth  or  choice,  of  a  common  country,  that  country  has 
a  right  to  concentrate  your  affections.  The  name  of  AMERICAN, 
which  belongs  to  you,  in  your  national  capacity,  must  always  exalt 
the  just  pride  of  Patriotism,  more  than  any  appellation  derived  from 
local  discriminations.  With  slight  shades  of  difference,*  you  have 
the  same  religion,  manners,  habits,  and  political  principles.  You 
have  in  a  common  cause  fought  and  triumphed  together ;  the  Inde 
pendence  and  Liberty  you  possess  are  the  work  of  joint  counsels, 
and  joint  efforts,  of  common  dangers,  sufferings,  and  successes. 

But  these  considerations,  however  powerfully  they  address  them 
selves  to  your  sensibility,  are  greatly  outweighed  by  those,  which 
apply  more  immediately  to  your  interest.  Here  every  portion  of 


APPENDIX.  213 

our  country  finds  the  most  commanding  motives  for  carefully  guard 
ing  and  preserving  the  tlnion  of  the  whole. 

The  North,  in  an  unrestrained  intercourse  with  the  South,  pro 
tected  by  the  equal  laws  of  a  common  government,  finds,  in  the 
productions  of  the  latter,  great  additional  resources  of  maritime 
and  commercial  enterprise  and  precious  materials  of  manufacturing 
industry.  The  South,  in  the  same  intercourse,  benefiting  by  the 
agency  of  the  North,  sees  its  agriculture  grow  and  its  commerce 
expand.  Turning  partly  into  its  own  channels  the  seamen  of  the 
North,  it  finds  its  particular  navigation  invigorated ;  and,  while  it 
contributes,  in  different  ways,  to  nourish  and  increase  the  general 
mass  of  the  national  navigation,  it  looks  forward  to  the  protection 
of  a  maritime  strength,  to  which  itself  is  unequally  adapted.  The 
East,  in  a  like  intercourse  with  the  West,  already  finds,  and  in  the 
progressive  improvement  of  interior  communications  by  land  and 
water,  will  more  and  more  find,  a  valuable  vent  for  the  commodities 
which  it  brings  from  abroad,  or  manufactures  at  home.  The  West 
derives  from  the  East  supplies  requisite  to  its  growth  and  comfort, 
and,  what  is  perhaps  of  still  greater  consequence,  it  must  of  neces 
sity  owe  the  secure  enjoyment  of  indispensable  outlets  for  its  own 
productions  to  the  weight,  influence,  and  the  future  maritime  strength 
of  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  Union,  directed  by  an  indissoluble  com 
munity  of  interest  as  one  nation.  Any  other  tenure  by  which  the 
West  can  hold  this  essential  advantage,  whether  derived  from  its 
own  separate  strength,  or  from  an  apostate  and  unnatural  connexion 
with  any  foreign  power,  must  be  intrinsically  precarious. 

While,  then,  every  part  of  our  country  thus  feels  an  immediate 
and  particular  interest  in  Union,  all  the  parts  combined  cannot  fail 
to  find  in  the  united  mass  of  means  and  efforts  greater  strength, 
greater  resource,  proportionably  greater  security  from  external 
danger,  a  less  frequent  interruption  of  their  peace  by  foreign  na 
tions;  and,  what  is  of  inestimable  value,  they  must  derive  from 
Union  an  exemption  from  those  broils  and  wars  between  themselves, 
which  so  frequently  afflict  neighboring  countries  not  tied  together . 


214  APPENDIX. 

by  the  same  governments,  which  their  own  rivalships  alone  would 
be  sufficient  to  produce,  but  which  opposite  foreign  alliances,  attach 
ments,  and  intrigues  would  stimulate  and  embitter.  Hence,  like 
wise,  they  will  avoid  the  necessity  of  those  overgrown  military 
establishments,  which,  under  any  form  of  government,  are  inauspi 
cious  to  liberty,  and  which  are  to  be  regarded  as  particularly  hos 
tile  to  Republican  Liberty.  In  this  sense  it  is,  that  your  Union 
ought  to  be  considered  as  a  main  prop  of  your  liberty,  and  that  the 
love  of  the  one  ought  to  endear  to  you  the  preservation  of  the  other. 

These  considerations  speak  a  persuasive  language  to  every  re 
flecting  and  virtuous  mind,  and  exhibit  the  continuance  of  the  UNION 
as  a  primary  object  of  Patriotic  desire.  Is  there  a  doubt,  whether 
a  common  government  can  embrace  so  large  a  sphere  ?  Let  expe 
rience  solve  it.  To  listen  to  mere  speculation  in  such  a  case  were 
criminal.  We  are  authorized  to  hope,  that  a  proper  organization 
of  the  whole,  with  the  auxiliary  agency  of  governments  for  the 
respective  subdivisions,  will  afford  a  happy  issue  to  the  experiment. 
It  is  well  worth  a  fair  and  full  experiment.  With  such  powerful 
and  obvious  motives  to  Union,  affecting  all  parts  of  our  country, 
while  experience  shall  not  have  demonstrated  its  impracticability, 
there  will  always  be  reason  to  distrust  the  patriotism  of  those,  who 
in  any  quarter  may  endeavor  to  weaken  its  bands. 

In  contemplating  the  causes,  which  may  disturb  our  Union,  it 
occurs  as  matter  of  serious  concern,  that  any  ground  should  have 
been  furnished  for  characterizing  parties  by  Geographical  discrimi 
nations,  Northern  and  Southern,  Atlantic  and  Western;  whence 
designing  men  may  endeavor  to  excite  a  belief,  that  there  is  a  real 
difference  of  local  interests  and  views.  One  of  the  expedients  of 
party  to  acquire  influence,  within  particular  districts,  is  to  misrepre 
sent  the  opinions  and  aims  of  other  districts.  You  cannot  shield 
yourselves  too  much  against  the  jealousies  and  heart-burnings,  which 
spring  from  these  misrepresentations ;  they  tend  to  render  alien  to 
each  other  those,  who  ought  to  be  bound  together  by  fraternal  affec 
tion.  The  inhabitants  of  our  western  country  have  lately  had  a 


APPENDIX.  215 

useful  lesson  on  this  head ;  they  have  seen,  in  the  negotiation  by 
the  Executive,  and  in  the  unanimous  ratification  by  the  Senate,  of 
the  treaty  with  Spain,  and  in  the  universal  satisfaction  at  that  event, 
throughout  the  United  States,  a  decisive  proof  how  unfounded  were 
the  suspicions  propagated  among  them  of  a  policy  in  the  General 
Government  and  in  the  Atlantic  States  unfriendly  to  their  interests 
in  regard  to  the  MISSISSIPPI  ;  they  have  been  witnesses  to  the  for 
mation  of  two  treaties,  that  with  Great  Britain,  and  that  with  Spain, 
which  secure  to  them  every  thing  they  could  desire,  in  respect  to 
our  foreign  relations,  towards  confirming  their  prosperity.  Will  it 
not  be  their  wisdom  to  rely  for  the  preservation  of  these  advantages 
on  the  UNION  by  which  they  were  procured  ?  Will  they  not  hence 
forth  be  deaf  to  those  advisers,  if  such  there  are,  who  would  sever 
them  from  their  brethren,  and  connect  them  with  aliens  ? 

To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your  Union,  a  Government 
for  the  whole  is  indispensable.  No  alliances,  however  strict,  be 
tween  the  parts  can  be  an  adequate  substitute ;  they  must  inevita 
bly  experience  the  infractions  and  interruptions,  which  all  alliances 
in  all  times  have  experienced.  Sensible  of  this  momentous  truth, 
you  have  improved  upon  your  first  essay,  by  the  adoption  of  a  Con 
stitution  of  Government  better  calculated  than  your  former  for  an 
intimate  Union,  and  for  the  efficacious  management  of  your  common 
concerns.  This  Government,  the  offspring  of  our  own  choice,  unin 
fluenced  and  unawed,  adopted  upon  full  investigation  and  mature 
deliberation,  completely  free  in  its  principles,  in  the  distribution  of 
its  powers,  uniting  security  with  energy,  and  containing  within 
itself  a  provision  for  its  own  amendment,  has  a  just  claim  to  your 
confidence  and  your  support.  Respect  for  its  authority,  compliance, 
with  its  laws,  acquiescence  in  its  measures,  are  duties  enjoined  by 
the  fundamental  maxims  of  true  Liberty.  The  basis  of  our  political 
systems  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  make  and  to  alter  their  Con 
stitutions  of  Government.  But  the  Constitution  which  at  any  time 
exists,  till  changed  by  an  explicit  and  authentic  act  of  the  whole 
people,  is  sacredly  obligatory  upon  all.  The  very  idea  of  the  power 


216  APPENDIX. 

and  the  right  of  the  people  to  establish  Government  presupposes 
the  duty  of  every  individual  to  obey  the  established  Government. 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  Laws,  all  combinations 
and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible  character,  with  the  real 
design  to  direct,  control,  counteract,  or  awe  the  regular  delibera 
tion  and  action  of  the  constituted  authorities,  are  destructive  of 
this  fundamental  principle,  and  of  fatal  tendency.  They  serve  to 
organize  faction,  to  give  it  an  artificial  and  extraordinary  force ;  to 
put,  in  the  place  of  the  delegated  will  of  the  nation,  the  will  of  a 
party,  often  a  small  but  artful  and  enterprising  minority  of  the  com 
munity  ;  and,  according  to  the  alternate  triumphs  of  different  par 
ties,  to  make  the  public  administration  the  mirror  of  the  ill-con 
certed  and  incongruous  projects  of  faction,  rather  than  the  organ  of 
consistent  and  wholesome  plans  digested  by  common  counsels,  and 
modified  by  mutual  interests. 

However  combinations  or  associations  of  the  above  description 
may  now  and  then  answer  popular  ends,  they  are  likely,  in  the 
course  of  time  and  things,  to  become  potent  engines,  by  which  cun 
ning,  ambitious,  and  unprincipled  men  will  be  enabled  to  subvert 
the  power  of  the  people,  and  to  usurp  for  themselves  the  reins  of 
government ;  destroying  afterwards  the  very  engines,  which  have 
lifted  them  to  unjust  dominion. 

Towards  the  preservation  of  your  government,  and  the  perma 
nency  of  your  present  happy  state,  it  is  requisite,  not  only  that  you 
steadily  discountenance  irregular  oppositions  to  its  acknowledged 
authority,  but  also  that  you  resist  with  care  the  spirit  of  innovation 
upon  its  principles,  however  specious  the  pretexts.  One  method  of 
assault  may  be  to  effect,  in  the  forms  of  the  constitution,  alterations, 
which  will  impair  the  energy  of  the  system,  and  thus  to  undermine 
what  cannot  be  directly  overthrown.  In  all  the  changes  to  which 
you  may  be  invited,  remember  that  time  and  habit  are  at  least  as 
necessary  to  fix  the  true  character  of  governments,  as  of  other 
human  institutions  ;  that  experience  is  the  surest  standard,  by  which 
to  test  the  real  tendency  of  the  existing  constitution  of  a  country ; 


APPENDIX.  217 

that  facility  in  changes,  upon  the  credit  of  mere  hypothesis  and 
opinion,  exposes  to  perpetual  change,  from  the  endless  variety  of 
hypothesis  and  opinion ;  and  remember,  especially,  that,  for  the 
efficient  management  of  your  common  interests,  in  a  country  so  ex 
tensive  as  ours,  a  government  of  as  much  vigor  as  is  consistent  with 
the  perfect  security  of  liberty  is  indispensable.  Liberty  itself  will 
find  in  such  a  government,  with  powers  properly  distributed  and 
adjusted,  its  surest  guardian.  It  is,  indeed,  little  else  than  a  name, 
where  the  government  is  too  feeble  to  withstand  the  enterprises  of 
faction,  to  confine  each  member  of  the  society  within  the  limits 
prescribed  by  the  laws,  and  to  maintain  all  in  the  secure  and  tran 
quil  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  person  and  property. 

I  have  already  intimated  to  you  the  danger  of  parties  in  the 
state,  with  particular  reference  to  the  founding  of  them  on  geogra 
phical  discriminations.  Let  me  now  take  a  more  comprehensive 
view,  and  warn  you  in  the  most  solemn  manner  against  the  baneful 
effects  of  the  spirit  of  party,  generally. 

This  spirit,  unfortunately,  is  inseparable  from  our  nature,  having 
its  root  in  the  strongest  passions  of  the  human  mind.  It  exists 
under  different  shapes  in  all  governments,  more  or  less  stifled,  con 
trolled,  or  repressed ;  but,  in  those  of  the  popular  form,  it  is  seen 
in  its  greatest  rankness,  and  is  truly  their  worst  enemy. 

The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction  over  another,  sharpened 
by  the  spirit  of  revenge,  natural  to  party  dissension,  which  in  dif 
ferent  ages  and  countries  has  perpetrated  the  most  horrid  enormi 
ties,  is  itself  a  frightful  despotism.  But  this  leads  at  length  to  a 
more  formal  and  permanent  despotism.  The  disorders  and  miseries, 
which  result,  gradually  incline  the  minds  of  men  to  seek  security 
and  repose  in  the  absolute  power  of  an  individual ;  and  sooner  or 
later  the  chief  of  some  prevailing  faction,  more  able  or  more  for 
tunate  than  his  competitors,  turns  this  disposition  to  the  purposes  of 
his  own  elevation,  on  the  ruins  of  Public  Liberty. 

Without  looking  forward  to  an  extremity  of  this  kind,  (which 
nevertheless  ought  not  to  be  entirely  out  of  sight,)  the  common  and 


218  APPENDIX. 

continual  mischiefs  of  the  spirit  of  party  are  sufficient  to  make  it 
the  interest  and  duty  of  a  wise  people  to  discourage  and  restrain  it. 

It  serves  always  to  distract  the  Public  Councils,  and  enfeeble  the 
Public  Administration.  It  agitates  the  Community  with  ill-founded 
jealousies  and  false  alarms  ;  kindles  the  animosity  of  one  part  against 
another,  foments  occasionally  riot  and  insurrection.  It  opens  the 
door  to  foreign  influence  and  corruption,  which  find  a  facilitated 
access  to  the  government  itself  through  the  channels  of  party  pas 
sions.  Thus  the  policy  and  the  will  of  one  country  are  subjected 
to  the  policy  and  will  of  another. 

There  is  an  opinion,  that  parties  in  free  countries  are  useful 
checks  upon  the  administration  of  the  Government,  and  serve  to 
keep  alive  the  spirit  of  Liberty.  This  within  certain  limits  is  pro 
bably  true ;  and  in  Governments  of  a  Monarchical  cast,  Patriotism 
may  look  with  indulgence,  if  not  with  favor,  upon  the  spirit  of  party. 
But  in  those  of  the  popular  character,  in  Governments  purely  elective, 
it  is  a  spirit  not  to  be  encouraged.  From  their  natural  tendency,  it 
is  certain  there  will  always  be  enough  of  that  spirit  for  every  salu 
tary  purpose.  And,  there  being  constant  danger  of  excess,  the 
effort  ought  to  be,  by  force  of  public  opinion,  to  mitigate  and  assuage 
it.  A  fire  not  to  be  quenched,  it  demands  a  uniform  vigilance  to 
prevent  its  bursting  into  a  flame,  lest,  instead  of  warming,  it  should 
consume. 

It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits  of  thinking  in  a  free 
country  should  inspire  caution,  in  those  intrusted  with  its  adminis 
tration,  to  confine  themselves  within  their  respective  constitutional 
spheres,  avoiding  in  the  exercise  of  the  powers  of  one  department  to 
encroach  upon  another.  The  spirit  of  encroachment  tends  to  con 
solidate  the  powers  of  all  the  departments  in  one,  and  thus  to  cre 
ate,  whatever  the  form  of  government,  a  real  despotism.  A  just 
estimate  of  that  love  of  power,  and  proneness  to  abuse  it,  which 
predominates  in  the  human  heart,  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  us  of  the 
truth  of  this  position.  The  necessity  of  reciprocal  checks  in  the 
exercise  of  political  power,  by  dividing  and  distributing  it  into  dif- 


APPENDIX.  219 


ferent  depositories,  and  constituting  each  the  Guardian  of  the  Public 
Weal  against  invasions  by  the  others,  has  been  evinced  by  experi 
ments  ancient  and  modern ;  some  of  them  in  our  country  and  under 
our  own  eyes.  To  preserve  them  must  be  as  necessary  as  to  insti 
tute  them.  If,  in  the  opinion  of  the  people,  the  distribution  or 
modification  of  the  constitutional  powers  be  in  any  particular  wrong, 
let  it  be  corrected  by  an  amendment,  in  the  way  which  the  constitu 
tion  designates.  But  let  there  be  no  change  by  usurpation ;  for, 
though  this,  in  one  instance,  may  be  the  instrument  of  good,  it  is 
the  customary  weapon  by  which  free  governments  are  destroyed. 
The  precedent  must  always  greatly  overbalance  in  permanent  evil 
any  partial  or  transient  benefit,  which  the  use  can  at  any  time  yield. 

Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits,  which  lead  to  political  pros 
perity,  Religion  and  Morality  are  indispensable  supports.  In  vain 
would  that  man  claim  the  tribute  of  Patriotism,  who  should  labor  to 
subvert  these  great  pillars  of  human  happiness,  these  firmest  props 
of  the  duties  of  Men  and  Citizens.  The  mere  Politician,  equally 
with  the  pious  man,  ought  to  respect  and  to  cherish  them.  A  vo 
lume  could  not  trace  all  their  connexions  with  private  and  public 
felicity.  Let  it  simply  be  asked,  Where  is  the  security  for  property, 
for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense  of  religious  obligation  desert 
the  oaths,  which  are  the  instruments  of  investigation  in  Courts  of 
Justice  ?  And  let  us  with  caution  indulge  the  supposition,  that 
morality  can  be  maintained  without  religion.  Whatever  may  be 
conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  education  on  minds  of  peculiar 
structure,  reason  and  experience  both  forbid  us  to  expect,  that 
national  morality  can  prevail  in  exclusion  of  religious  principle. 

It  is  substantially  true,  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a  necessary 
spring  of  popular  government.  The  rule,  indeed,  extends  with 
more  or  less  force  to  every  species  of  free  government.  Who,  that 
is  a  sincere  friend  to  it,  can  look  with  indifference  upon  attempts  to 
shake  the  foundation  of  the  fabric  ? 

Promote,  then,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance,  institutions 
for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge.  In  proportion  as  the  struc- 


220  APPENDIX. 

ture   of  a  government  gives  force  to  public  opinion,  it  is  essential 

/' ,      ^ 

that  public  opinion  should  be  enlightened. 

As  a  very  important  source  of  strength  and  security,  cherish 
public  credit.  One  method  of  preserving  it  is,  to  use  it  as  sparingly 
as  possible ;  avoiding  occasions  of  expense  by  cultivating  peace,  but 
remembering  also  that  timely  disbursements  to  prepare  for  danger 
frequently  prevent  much  greater  disbursements  to  repel  it ;  avoiding 
likewise  the  accumulation  of  debt,  not  only  by  shunning  occasions 
of  expense,  but  by  vigorous  exertions  in  time  of  peace  to  discharge 
the  debts,  which  unavoidable  wars  may  have  occasioned,  not  unge 
nerously  throwing  upon  posterity  the  burthen,  which  we  ourselves 
ought  to  bear.  The  execution  of  these  maxims  belongs  to  your  re 
presentatives,  but  it  is  necessary  that  public  opinion  should  coope 
rate.  To  facilitate  to  them  the  performance  of  their  duty,  it  is 
essential  that  you  should  practically  bear  in  mind,  that  towards  the 
payment  of  debts  there  must  be  Revenue ;  that  to  have  Revenue 
there  must  be  taxes ;  that  no  taxes  can  be  devised,  which  are  not 
more  or  less  inconvenient  and  unpleasant ;  that  the  intrinsic  embar 
rassment,  inseparable  from  the  selection  of  the  proper  objects  (which 
is  always  a  choice  of  difficulties),  ought  to  be  a  decisive  motive  for  a 
candid  construction  of  the  conduct  of  the  government  in  making  it, 
and  for  a  spirit  of  acquiescence  in  the  measures  for  obtaining 
revenue,  which  the  public  exigencies  may  at  any  time  dictate. 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  towards  all  Nations ;  cultivate 
peace  and  harmony  with  all.  Religion  and  Morality  enjoin  this 
conduct ;  and  can  it  be,  that  good  policy  does  not  equally  enjoin  it? 
It  will  be  worthy  of  a  free,  enlightened,  and,  at  no  distant  period, 
a  great  Nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the  magnanimous  and  too  novel 
example  of  a  people  always  guided  by  an  exalted  justice  and  bene 
volence.  Who  can  doubt,  that,  in  the  course  of  time  and  things, 
the  fruits  of  such  a  plan  would  richly  repay  any  temporary  advan 
tages,  which  might  be  lost  by  a  steady  adherence  to  it  ?  Can  it  be, 
that  Providence  has  not  connected  the  permanent  felicity  of  a  Nation 
with  its  Virtue?  The  experiment,  at  least,  is  recommended  by 


APPENDIX.  221 

every  sentiment  which  ennobles  human  nature.  Alas  !  is  it  ren 
dered  impossible  by  its  vices  ? 

In  the  execution  of  such  a  plan,  nothing  is  more  essential,  than 
that  permanent,  inveterate  antipathies  against  particular  Nations, 
and  passionate  attachments  for  others,  should  be  excluded  ;  and  that, 
in  place  of  them,  just  and  amicable  feelings  towards  all  should  be 
cultivated.  The  Nation,  which  indulges  towards  another  an  habitual 
hatred,  or  an  habitual  fondness,  is  in  some  degree  a  slave.  It  is  a 
slave  to  its  animosity  or  to  its  affection,  either  of  which  is  sufficient 
to  lead  it  astray  from  its  duty  and  its  interest.  Antipathy  in  one 
nation  against  another  disposes  each  more  readily  to  offer  insult  and 
injury,  to  lay  hold  of  slight  causes  of  umbrage,  and  to  be  haughty 
and  intractable,  when  accidental  or  trifling  occasions  of  dispute 
occur.  Hence  frequent  collisions,  obstinate,  envenomed,  and  bloody 
contests.  The  Nation,  prompted  by  ill-will  and  resentment,  some 
times  impels  to  war  the  Government,  contrary  to  the  best  calcula 
tions  of  policy.  The  Government  sometimes  participates  in  the 
national  propensity,  and  adopts  through  passion  what  reason  would 
reject ;  at  other  times,  it  makes  the  animosity  of  the  nation  subser 
vient  to  projects  of  hostility  instigated  by  pride,  ambition,  and  other 
sinister  and  pernicious  motives.  The  peace  often,  sometimes  per 
haps  the  liberty,  of  Nations  has  been  the  victim. 

So  likewise,  a  passionate  attachment  of  one  Nation  for  another 
produces  a  variety  of  evils.  Sympathy  for  the  favorite  Nation, 
facilitating  the  illusion  of  an  imaginary  common  interest,  in  cases 
where  no  real  common  interest  exists,  and  infusing  into  one  the 
enmities  of  the  other,  betrays  the  former  into  a  participation  in  the 
quarrels  and  wars  of  the  latter,  without  adequate  inducement  or 
justification.  It  leads  also  to  concessions  to  the  favorite  Nation  of 
privileges  denied  to  others,  which  is  apt  doubly  to  injure  the  Nation 
making  the  concessions  ;  by  unnecessarily  parting  with  what  ought 
to  have  been  retained ;  and  by  exciting  jealousy,  ill-will,  and  a  dis 
position  to  retaliate,  in  the  parties  from  whom  equal  privileges  are 
withheld.  And  it  gives  to  ambitious,  corrupted,  or  deluded  citizens, 


222  APPENDIX. 

(who  devote  themselves  to  the  favorite  nation,)  facility  to  betray 
or  sacrifice  the  interests  of  their  own  country,  without  odium,  some 
times  even  with  popularity ;  gilding,  with  the  appearances  of  a  vir 
tuous  sense  of  obligation,  a  commendable  deference  for  public 
opinion,  or  a  laudable  zeal  for  public  good,  the  base  or  foolish  com 
pliances  of  ambition,  corruption,  or  infatuation. 

As  avenues  to  foreign  influence  in  innumerable  ways,  such  attach 
ments  are  particularly  alarming  to  the  truly  enlightened  and  inde 
pendent  Patriot.  How  many  opportunities  do  they  afford  to  tamper 
with  domestic  factions,  to  practise  the  arts  of  seduction,  to  mislead 
public  opinion,  to  influence  or  awe  the  Public  Councils !  Such  an 
attachment  of  a  small  or  weak,  towards  a  great  and  powerful  nation, 
dooms  the  former  to  be  the  satellite  of  the  latter. 

Against  the  insidious  wiles  of  foreign  influence  (I  conjure  you  to 
believe  me,  fellow-citizens,)  the  jealousy  of  a  free  people  ought  to 
be  constantly  awake ;  since  history  and  experience  prove,  that  foreign 
influence  is  one  of  the  most  baneful  foes  of  Republican  Government. 
But  that  jealousy,  to  be  useful,  must  be  impartial ;  else  it  becomes 
the  instrument  of  the  very  influence  to  be  avoided,  instead  of  a  de 
fence  against  it.  Excessive  partiality  for  one  foreign  nation,  and 
excessive  dislike  of  another,  cause  those  whom  they  actuate  to  see 
danger  only  on  one  side,  and  serve  to  veil  and  even  second  the  arts 
of  influence  on  the  other.  Real  patriots,  who  may  resist  the  in 
trigues  of  the  favorite,  are  liable  to  become  suspected  and  odious ; 
while  its  tools  and  dupes  usurp  the  applause  and  confidence  of  the 
people,  to  surrender  their  interests. 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us,  in  regard  to  foreign  nations,  is, 
in  extending  our  commercial  relations,  to  have  with  them  as  little 
political  connexion  as  possible.  So  far  as  we  have  already  formed 
engagements,  let  them  be  fulfilled  with  perfect  good  faith.  Here 
let  us  stop. 

Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us  have  none,  or 
a  very  remote  relation.  Hence  she  must  be  engaged  in  frequent 
controversies,  the  causes  of  which  are  essentially  foreign  to  our 


APPENDIX.  223 

concerns.  Hence,  therefore,  it  must  be  unwise  in  us  to  implicate 
ourselves,  by  artificial  ties,  in  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  her  poli 
tics,  or  the  ordinary  combinations  and  collisions  of  her  friendships 
or  enmities. 

Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invites  and  enables  us  to  pur 
sue  a  different  course.  If  we  remain  one  people,  under  an  efficient 
government,  the  period  is  not  far  off,  when  we  may  defy  material 
injury  from  external  annoyance ;  when  we  may  take  such  an  atti 
tude  as  will  cause  the  neutrality,  we  may  at  any  time  resolve  upon, 
to  be  scrupulously  respected ;  when  belligerent  nations,  under  the 
impossibility  of  making  acquisitions  upon  us,  will  not  lightly  hazard 
the  giving  us  provocation ;  when  we  may  choose  peace  or  war,  as 
our  interest,  guided  by  justice,  shall  counsel. 

Why  forego  the  advantages  of  so  peculiar  a  situation  ?  Why  quit 
our  own  to  stand  upon  foreign  ground  ?  Why,  by  interweaving  our 
destiny  with  that  of  any  part  of  Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and 
prosperity  in  the  toils  of  European  ambition,  rivalship,  interest, 
humor,  or  caprice  ? 

It  is  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of  permanent  alliances  with 
any  portion  of  the  foreign  world ;  so  far,  I  mean,  as  we  are  now  at 
liberty  to  do  it ;  for  let  me  not  be  understood  as  capable  of  patron 
izing  infidelity  to  existing  engagements.  I  hold  the  maxim  no  less 
applicable  to  public  than  to  private  affairs,  that  honesty  is  always 
the  best  policy.  I  repeat  it,  therefore,  let  those  engagements  be 
observed  in  their  genuine  sense.  But,  in  my  opinion,  it  is  unneces 
sary  and  would  be  unwise  to  extend  them. 

Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable  establishments, 
on  a  respectable  defensive  posture,  we  may  safely  trust  to  temporary 
alliances  for  extraordinary  emergencies. 

Harmony,  liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations,  are  recommended 
by  policy,  humanity,  and  interest.  But  even  our  commercial  policy 
should  hold  an  equal  and  impartial  hand ;  neither  seeking  nor  grant 
ing  exclusive  favors  or  preferences ;  consulting  the  natural  course 
of  things ;  diffusing  and  diversifying  by  gentle  means  the  streams 


224  APPENDIX. 

of  commerce,  but  forcing  nothing ;  establishing,  with  powers  so  dis 
posed,  in  order  to  give  trade  a  stable  course,  to  define  the  rights  of 
our  merchants,  and  to  enable  the  government  to  support  them,  con 
ventional  rules  of  intercourse,  the  best  that  present  circumstances 
and  mutual  opinion  will  permit,  but  temporary,  and  liable  to  be 
from  time  to  time  abandoned  or  varied,  as  experience  and  circum 
stances  shall  dictate ;  constantly  keeping  in  view,  that  it  is  folly  in 
one  nation  to  look  for  disinterested  favors  from  another;  that  it 
must  pay  with  a  portion  of  its  independence  for  whatever  it  may 
accept  under  that  character ;  that,  by  such  acceptance,  it  may  place 
itself  in  the  condition  of  having  given  equivalents  for  nominal  favors, 
and  yet  of  being  reproached  with  ingratitude  for  not  giving  more. 
There  can  be  no  greater  error  than  to  expect  or  calculate  upon  real 
favors  from  nation  to  nation.  It  is  an  illusion,  which  experience 
must  cure,  which  a  just  pride  ought  to  discard. 

In  offering  to  you,  my  countrymen,  these  counsels  of  an  old  and 
affectionate  friend,  I  dare  not  hope  they  will  make  the  strong  and 
lasting  impression  I  could  wish ;  that  they  will  control  the  usual 
current  of  the  passions,  or  prevent  our  nation  from  running  the 
course,  which  has  hitherto  marked  the  destiny  of  nations.  But,  if 
I  may  even  flatter  myself,  that  they  may  be  productive  of  some  par 
tial  benefit,  some  occasional  good ;  that  they  may  now  and  then 
recur  to  moderate  the  fury  of  party  spirit,  to  warn  against  the  mis 
chiefs  of  foreign  intrigue,  to  guard  against  the  impostures  of  pre 
tended  patriotism ;  this  hope  will  be  a  full  recompense  for  the  soli 
citude  for  your  welfare,  by  which  they  have  been  dictated. 

How  far  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties,  I  have  been  guided 
by  the  principles  which  have  been  delineated,  the  public  records  and 
other  evidences  of  my  conduct  must  witness  to  you  and  to  the  world. 
To  myself,  the  assurance  of  my  own  conscience  is,  that  I  have  at 
least  believed  myself  to  be  guided  by  them. 

In  relation  to  -the  still  subsisting  war  in  Europe,  my  Proclamation 
of  the  22d  of  April,  1793,  is  the  index  to  my  Plan.  Sanctioned 
by  your  approving  voice,  and  by  that  of  your  Representatives  in 


APPENDIX.  225 

both  Houses  of.  Congress,  the  spirit  of  that  measure  has  continually 
governed  me,  uninfluenced  by  any  attempts  to  deter  or  divert  me 
from  it. 

After  deliberate  examination,  with  the  aid  of  the  best  lights  I 
could  obtain,  I  was  well  satisfied  that  our  country,  under  all  the 
circumstances  of  the  case,  had  a  right  to  take,  and  was  bound  in 
duty  and  interest  to  take,  a  neutral  position.  Having  taken  it,  I 
determined,  as  far  as  should  depend  upon  me,  to  maintain  it,  with 
moderation,  perseverance,  and  firmness. 

The  considerations,  which  respect  the  right  to  hold  this  conduct, 
it  is  not  necessary  on  this  occasion  to  detail.  I -will  only  observe, 
that,  according  to  my  understanding  of  the  matter,  that  right,  so 
far  from  being  denied  by  any  of  the  Belligerent  Powers,  has  been 
virtually  admitted  by  all. 

The  duty  of  holding  a  neutral  conduct  may  be  inferred,  without 
any  thing  more,  from  the  obligation  which  justice  and  humanity 
impose  on  every  nation,  in  cases  in  which  it  is  free  to  act,  to  main 
tain  inviolate  the  relations  of  peace  and  amity  towards  other 
nations. 

The  inducements  of  interest  for  observing  that  conduct  will  best 
be  referred  to  your  own  reflections  and  experience.  With  me,  a 
predominant  motive  has  been  to  endeavor  to  gain  time  to  our  coun 
try  to  settle  and  mature  its  yet  recent  institutions,  and  to  progress 
without  interruption  to  that  degree  of  strength  and  consistency, 
which  is  necessary  to  give  it,  humanly  speaking,  the  command  of  its 
own  fortunes. 

Though,  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  administration,  I  am 
unconscious  of  intentional  error,  I  am  nevertheless  too  sensible  of 
my  defects  not  to  think  it  probable  that  I  may  have  committed  many 
errors.  Whatever  they  may  be,  I  fervently  beseech  the  Almighty 
to  avert  or  mitigate  the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend.  I  shall  also 
carry  with  me  the  hope,  that  my  Country  will  never  cease  to  view 
them  with  indulgence ;  and  that,  after  forty-five  years  of  my  life 
dedicated  to  its  service  with  an  upright  zeal,  the  faults  of  incompe- 

15 


22ft  APPENDIX. 

v//\ 

tent  abilities  will  be  consigned  to  oblivion,  as  myself  must  soon  be 
to  the  mansions  of  rest. 

Relying  on  its  kindness  in  this  as  in  other  things,  and  actuated 
by  that  fervent  love  towards  it,  which  is  so  natural  to  a  man,  who 
views  in  it  the  native  soil  of  himself  and  his  progenitors  for  several 
generations ;  I  anticipate  with  pleasing  expectation  that  retreat,  in 
which  I  promise  myself  to  realize,  without  alloy,  the  sweet  enjoy 
ment  of  partaking,  in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the  benign 
influence  of  good  laws  under  a  free  government,  the  ever  favorite 
object  of  my  heart,  and  the  happy  reward,  as  I  trust,  of  our  mutual 
cares,  labors,  and  dangers. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

UNITED  STATES,  September  17th,  1796. 


APPENDIX.  227 


No.  V. 

WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 

(From  Autograph  Copy.) 

[MEMORANDUM. — With  the  cancelled  passages  restored,  and 
printed  at  the  foot  of  the  pages,  under  the  direction  of  James 
Lenox,  Esq.,  the  proprietor  of  the  autograph.  The  marginal 
pages  are  those  of  the  fifth  volume  of  Mr.  Irving' s  Life  of  Wash 
ington.  The  references  at  the  end  of  the  restored  passages,  at  the 
foot  of  the  pages,  are  to  the  pages  of  this  Appendix.] 

*FRIENDS  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS:  [*356] 

The  period  for  a  new  election  of  a  Citizen,  to  administer  the 
Executive  Government  of  the  United  States,  being  not  far  distant, 
and  the  time  actually  arrived,  when  your  thoughts  must  be  em 
ployed  in  designating  the  person,  who  is  to  be  clothed  with  that 
important  trust  [  *  ],  it  appears  to  me  proper,  especially  as  it  may 
conduce  to  a  more  distinct  expression  of  the  public  voice,  that  I 
should  now  apprise  you  of  the  resolution  I  have  formed,  to  decline 
being  considered  among  the  number  of  those,  out  of  whom  a  choice 
is  to  be  made. 

I  beg  you,  at  the  same  time,  to  do  me  the  justice  to  be  assured, 
that  this  resolution  has  not  been  taken,  without  a  strict  regard  to 
all  the  considerations  appertaining  to  the  relation,  which  binds  a 
dutiful  citizen  to  his  country — and  that,  in  withdrawing  the  tender 
of  service  which  silence  in  my  situation  might  imply,  I  am  influ 
enced  by  no  diminution  of  zeal  for  your  future  interest,  no  deficiency 
of  grateful  respect  for  your  past  kindness ;  but  [am  supported  by]f 
a  full  conviction  that  the  step  is  compatible  with  both. 

*  for  another  term  j-  act  under 


228  APPENDIX. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  continuance  hitherto  in,  the  office  to 
which  your  suffrages  have  twice  called  me,  have  been  a  uniform 
sacrifice  of  inclination  to  the  opinion  of  duty,  and  to  a  deference 
for  what  appeared  to  be  your  desire.  —  I  constantly  hoped,  that  it 
would  have  been  much  earlier  in  my  power,  consistently  with 
motives,  which  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard,  to  return  to 
that  retirement  from  -which  I  had  been  reluctantly  drawn.  —  The 
strength  of  my  inclination  to  do  this,  previous  to  the  last  election, 

*had  even  led  to  the  preparation  of  an  address  to  declare 
oo7  I 

it  to  you  ;  but  mature  reflection  on  the  then  perplexed  and 

critical  posture  of  our  affairs  with  foreign  Nations,  and  the  unani 
mous  advice  of  persons  entitled  to  my  confidence,  impelled  me  to 
abandon  the  idea.  — 

I  rejoice  that  the  state  of  your  concerns,  external  as  well  as  in 
ternal,  no  longer  renders  the  pursuit  of  inclination  incompatible 
with  the  sentiment  of  duty,  or  propriety  ;  and  [am  persuaded]* 
whatever  partiality  [may  be  retained]!  for  my  services,  [that]J  in 
the  present  circumstances  of  our  country  [you]  will  not  disapprove 
my  determination  to  retire. 

The  impressions  [with]§  which,  I  first  [undertook]  ||  the  arduous 
trust,  were  explained  on  the  proper  occasion.  —  In  the  discharge  of 
this  trust,  I  will  only  say,  that  I  have,  with  good  intentions,  con 
tributed  [towards]Tf  the  organization  and  administration  of  the 
government,  the  best  exertions  of  which  a  very  fallible  judgment 
was  capable.  Not  unconscious,  in  the  outset,  of  the  inferiority  of 
my  qualifications,  experience  in  my  own  eyes,  [perhaps]  still  more 
in  the  eyes  of  others,  has  [strengthened]**  the  motives  to  diffidence 
of  myself;  and  every  day  the  increasing  weight  of  years  admo 
nishes  me  more  and  more,  that  the  shade  of  retirement  is  as  neces 
sary  to  me  as  it  will  be  welcome.  —  Satisfied  that  if  any  circumstances 
have  given  peculiar  value  to  my  services,  they  were  temporary,  I 


*  that  f  any  portion  of  you  may  yet  retain  J  even  they 

§  under  ||  accepted  1  to  **  not  lessened 


APPENDIX.  229 

have  the  consolation  to  believe,  that  while  choice  and  prudence 
invite  me  to  quit  the  political  scene,  patriotism  does  not  forbid 

it.[*] 

*In  looking  forward  to  the  moment,  which  is  [intended] 
to  terminate  the  career  of  my  public  life,  my  feelings  do 
not  permit  me  to  suspend  the  deep  acknowledgment  [of]f  that  debt 
of  gratitude  which  I  owe  to  my  beloved  country, — for  the  many 
honors  it  has  conferred  upon  me ;  still  more  for  the  stedfast  confi 
dence  with  which  it  has  supported  me ;  and  for  the  opportunities  I 
have  thence  enjoyed  of  manifesting  my  inviolable  attachment,  by 
services  faithful  and  persevering,  though  [in  usefulness  unequal];);  to 
my  zeal. — If  benefits  have  resulted  to  our  country  from  these  ser 
vices,  let  it  always  be  remembered  to  your  praise,  and  as  an  in 
structive  example  in  our  annals,  that,  [  §  ]  under  circumstances  in 
which  the  Passions  agitated  in  every  direction  were  liable  to  [mis 
lead],  ||  amidst  appearances  sometimes  dubious, — vicissitudes  of  for 
tune  often  discouraging, — in  situations  in  which  not  unfrequently 
want  of  success  has  countenanced  the  spirit  of  criticism  [the  con 
stancy  of  your  support]  was  the  essential  prop  of  the  efforts  and 
WH  guarantee  of  the  plans  by  which  they  were  effected.  Pro 
foundly  penetrated  with  this  idea,  I  shall  carry  it  with  me  to  the 
grave,  as  a  strong  incitement  to  unceasing  vows  [**]  that  Heaven 
may  continue  to  you  the  choicest  tokens  of  its  beneficence — that 


*  May  I  also  have  that  of  knowing  in  my  retreat,  that  the  involuntary  errors,  I  have 
probably  committed,  have  been  the  sources  of  no  serious  or  lasting  mischief  to  our 
country.  I  may  then  expect  to  realize,  without  alloy,  the  sweet  enjoyment  of  partaking, 
in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the  benign  influence  of  good  laws  under  a  free 
government;  the  ever  favorite  object  of  my  heart,  and  the  happy  reward,  I  trust,  of  our 
mutual  cares,  dangers,  and  labours.  [Supra,  p.  190.] 

In  the  margin  opposite  this  paragraph  is  the  following  note  in  Washington's  Auto 
graph  also  erased,  "  obliterated  to  avoid  the  imputation  of  affected  modesty." 

t  demanded  by  J  unequal  in  usefulness 

§  the  constancy  of  your  support  ||  wander  and  fluctuate 

^  the  **  the  only  return  I  can  henceforth  make. 


230  APPENDIX. 

your  union  and  brotherly  affection  may  be  perpetual — that  the  free 
constitution,  which  is  the  work  of  your  hands,  may  be  sacredly 
maintained — that  its  administration  in  every  department  may  be 
stamped  with  wisdom  and  virtue — that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the 
people  of  these  States,  under  the  auspices  of  liberty,  may  be  made 
complete,  by  so  careful  a  preservation  and  so  prudent  a  use  of  this 
blessing  as  will  acquire  to  them  the  glory  [  *  ]  of  recommending  it 
to  the  applause,  the  affection,  and  adoption  of  every  nation  which  is 
yet  a  stranger  to  it. 

Here,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  stop. — But  a  solicitude  for  your  wel- 
fare  which  cannot  end  but  with  my  life,  and  the  apprehen 
sion  *of  danger,  natural  to  that  solicitude,  [urge  me,  on  an 
occasion  like  the  present,  to  offer]f  to  your  solemn  contemplation, 
and  to  recommend  to  your  frequent  review,  some  sentiments ;  which 
are  the  result  of  much  reflection,  of  no  inconsiderable  observa 
tion,  [  {  ]  and  which  appear  to  me  all  important  to  the  permanency 
of  your  felicity  as  a  people. — These  will  be  offered  to  you  with  the 
more  freedom  as  you  can  only  see  in  them,  the  disinterested  warn 
ings  of  a  departing  friend,  who  can  [possibly]  have  no  personal 
motive  to  bias  his  counsels. — [Nor  can  I  forget,  as  an  encourage 
ment  to  it  your  indulgent  reception  of  my  sentiments  on  a  former 
and  not  dissimilar  occasion.] 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with  every  ligament  of  your 
hearts,  no  recommendation  of  mine  is  necessary  to  fortify  or  confirm 
the  attachment. 

The  Unity  of  Government  which  constitutes  you  one  people,  is 
also  now  dear  to  you. — It  is  justly  so ; — for  it  is  a  main  Pillar  in 
the  Edifice  of  your  real  independence ;  [the  support]  of  your  tran 
quillity  at  home  ;  your  peace  abroad ;  of  your  safety  ;  [  §  ]  of  your 


*  or  satisfaction 

f  encouraged  by  the  remembrance  of  your  indulgent  reception  of  my  sentiments  on 
an  occasion  not  dissimilar  to  the  present,  urge  me  to  offer 

J  and  experience  §  in  every  relation 


APPENDIX.  231 

prosperity  [  *  ]  ;  of  that  very  Liberty  which  you  so  highly  prize. — 
But  as  it  is  easy  to  foresee,  that  from  [different]!  causes,  and  from 
different  quarters,  much  pains  will  be  taken,  many  artifices  em 
ployed,  to  weaken  in  your  minds  the  conviction  of  this  truth; — as 
this  is  the  point  in  your  [political]  fortress  against  which  the  batte 
ries  of  internal  and  external  enemies  will  be  most  constantly  and 
actively  (though  often  covertly  and  insidiously)  directed,  it  is  of 
infinite  moment,  that  you  should  properly  estimate  the  immense 
value  of  your  national  Union  to  your  collective  and  individual  hap 
piness  ; — that  you  should  cherishj  a  cordial,  habitual,  and  immove- 
able  attachment  [to  it,  accustoming  yourselves  to  think  and  speak 
of  it  as  of  the  Palladium  of  your  political  safety  and  prosperity ; 
watching  for  *its  preservation  with  jealous  anxiety;  dis 
countenancing  whatever  may  suggest  even  a  suspicion  that 
it  can  in  any  event  be  abandoned,  and  indignantly  frowning  upon 
the  first  dawning  of  every  attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of  our 
Country  from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now  link 
together  the  various  parts. ]§ — 

For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of  sympathy  and  interest. — 
Citizens  [by  birth  or  choice  of  a  common  country],  ||  that  country 
has  a  right  to  concentrate  your  affections. — The  name  of  AMERICAN, 
which  belongs  to  you,  in  your  national  capacity,  must  always  exalt 
the  just  pride  of  Patriotism,  more  than  any  appellation  [  If  ]  derived 
from  local  discriminations.— With  slight  shades  of  difference,  you 
have  the  same  Religion,  Manners,  Habits,  and  political  Principles. — 

*  in  every  shape  f  various  £  towards  it 

§  that  you  should  accustom  yourselves  to  reverence  it  as  the  Palladium  of  your  po 
litical  safety  and  prosperity,  adapting  constantly  your  words  and  actions  to  that 
momentous  idea;  that  you  should  watch  for  its  preservation  with  jealous  anxiety, 
discountenance  whatever  may  suggest  a  suspicion  that  it  can  in  any  event  be  aban 
doned  ;  and  frown  upon  the  first  dawning  of  any  attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of 
our  Country  from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now  link  together  the 
several  parts. — [Supra,  p.  192.] 

||  of  a  common  country  by  birth  or  choice  II  to  be 


232  APPENDIX. 

You  have  in  a  common  cause  fought  and  triumphed  together. — The 
Independence  and  Liberty  you  possess  are  the  work  of  joint  councils, 
and  joint  efforts — of  common  dangers,  sufferings  and  successes. — 

But  these  considerations,  however  powerfully  they  address  them 
selves  to  your  sensibility,  are  greatly  outweighed  by  those  which 
apply  more  immediately  to  your  Interest. — Here  every  portion  of 
our  country  finds  the  most  commanding  motives  for  carefully  guard 
ing  and  preserving  the  Union  of  the  whole. 

The  North  in  an  [unrestrained]*  intercourse  with  the  South,  pro 
tected  by  the  equal  Laws  of  a  common  government,  finds  in  the 
productions  of  the  latter  [  f  ]  great  additional  resources  of  maritime 
and  commercial  enterprise — and  precious  materials  of  manufacturing 
industry. — The  South  in  the  same  intercourse,  ^benefiting 
by  the  agency  of  the  North,  sees  its  agriculture  grow  and 
its  commerce  expand.  Turning  partly  into  its  own  channels  the 
seamen  of  the  North,  it  finds  its  particular  navigation  invigorated; — 
and  while  it  contributes,  in  different  ways,  to  nourish  and  increase 
the  general  mass  of  the  national  navigation,  it  looks  forward  to  the 
protection  of  a  maritime  strength  to  which  itself  is  unequally 
adapted. — The  East,  in  a  like  intercourse  with  the  West,  already 
finds,  and  in  the  progressive  improvement  of  interior  communica 
tions,  by  land  and  water,  will  more  and  more  find,  a  valuable  vent 
for  the  commodities  which  it  brings  from  abroad,  or  manufactures  at 
home. — The  West  derives  from  the  East  supplies  requisite  to  its 
growth  and  comfort, — and  what  is  perhaps  of  still  greater  conse 
quence,  it  must  of  necessity  owe  the  secure  enjoyment  of  indispen 
sable  outlets  for  its  own  productions  to  the  weight,  influence,  and 
the  future  maritime  strength  of  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  Union, 
directed  by  an  indissoluble  community  of  interest,  as  one  Nation. 
[Any  other]J  tenure  by  which  the  West  can  hold  this  essential  ad 
vantage,  [whether  derived]§  from  its  own  separate  strength,  or  from 


*  unfettered  t  many  of  the  peculiar  £  The  §  either 


APPENDIX.  233 

an  apostate  and  unnatural  connection  with  any  foreign  Power,  must 
be  intrinsically  precarious.  [  *  ] 

[  f  ]  While  [then]  every  part  of  our  Country  thus  [feels] J  an  im 
mediate  and  particular  interest  in  Union,  all  the  parts§  [combined 
cannot  fail  to  find]  in  the  united  mass  of  means  and  efforts  [  ||  ] 
greater  strength,  greater  resource,  proportionably  greater  security 
from  external  danger,  a  less  frequent  interruption  of  their  peace  by 
foreign  Nations ;  and,  [what  is]T  of  inestimable  value !  they  must 
derive  from  Union  an  exemption  from  those  broils  and  wars  between 
themselves  which  [so  frequently]**  afflict  neighbouring  countries, 

not  tied  together  by  *the  same  government ;  which  their 

I    ot)^  I 
own  rivalships  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  produce ;   but 

which  opposite  foreign  alliances,  attachments  and  intrigues  would 
stimulate  and  embitter. — Hence  likewise  they  will  avoid  the  neces 
sity  of  those  overgrown  Military  establishments,  which  under  any 
form  of  Government  are  inauspicious  to  liberty,  and  which  [are  to 
be  regarded]ff  as  particularly  hostile  to  Republican  Liberty :  In 
this  sense  it  is,  that  your  Union  ought  to  be  considered  as  a  main 
prop  of  your  liberty,  and  that  the  love  of  the  one  ought  to  endear 
to  you  the  preservation  of  the  other. 

These  considerations  speak  a  persuasive  language  to  [every]JJ 
reflecting  and  virtuous  mind, — [and]§§  exhibit  the  continuance  of 
the  UNION  as  a  primary  object  of  Patriotic  desire. — Is  there  a 
doubt,  whether  a  common  government  can  embrace  so  large  a 
sphere  ? — Let  experience  solve  it. — To  listen  to  mere  speculation  in 
such  a  case  were  criminal. — [We  are  authorised] ||||  to  hope  that  a 


*  liable  every  moment  to  be  disturbed  by  the  fluctuating  combinations  of  the  primary 
interests  of  Europe,  which  must  be  expected  to  regulate  the  conduct  of  the  Nations  of 
which  it  is  composed. — [Supra,  p.  193.] 

f  And  J  finds  §  of  it 

||  cannot  fail  to  find  ^[  which  is  an  advantage  **  inevitably 

ft  there  is  reason  to  regard  JJ  any  §§  they 

III!  Tis  natural 


234  APPENDIX. 

proper  organization  of  the  whole,  with  the  auxiliary  agency  of 
governments  for  the  respective  subdivisions,  will  afford  a  happy 
issue  to  the  experiment.  'Tis  well  worth  a  fair  and  full  experi 
ment.  [  *  ]  With  such  powerful  and  obvious  motives  to  Union, 
[affecting]f  all  parts  of  our  country  [J],  while  experience  shall 
not  have  demonstrated  its  impracticability,  there  will  always  be 
[reason]§  to  distrust  the  patriotism  of  those,  who  in  any  quarter 
may  endeavour  to  weaken  its  bands.  [  ||  ] — 

*In   contemplating   the  causes  which  may  disturb   our 
[~*363~| 

Union,  it  occurs  as  matter  of  serious  concern,  that  [any 

ground  should  have  been  furnished  for  characterizing  parties  by]T 
Geographical  discriminations — Northern  and  Southern — Atlantic 


*  It  may  not  impossibly  be  found,  that  the  spirit  of  party,  the  machinations  of  foreign 
powers,  the  corruption  and  ambition  of  individual  citizens  are  more  formidable  adver 
saries  to  the  Unity  of  our  Empire  than  any  inherent  difficulties  in  the  scheme.  Against 
these  the  mounds  of  national  opinion,  national  sympathy  and  national  jealousy  ought  to 
be  raised. — [Swjora,  p.  194.] 

•j-  as  if  have  §  cause  in  the  effect  itself 

||  Besides  the  more  serious  causes  already  hinted  as  threatening  our  Union,  there  is 
one  less  dangerous,  but  sufficiently  dangerous  to  make  it  prudent  to  be  upon  our 
guard  against  it.  I  allude  to  the  petulance  of  party  differences  of  opinion.  It  is  not 
uncommon  to  hear  the  irritations  which  these  excite  vent  themselves  in  declarations 
that  the  different  parts  of  the  United  States  are  ill  affected  to  each  other,  in  menaces 
that  the  Union  will  be  dissolved  by  this  or  that  measure.  Intimations  like  these  are  as 
indiscreet  as  they  are  intemperate.  Though  frequently  made  with  levity  and  without 
any  really  evil  intention,  they  have  a  tendency  to  produce  the  consequence  which  they 
indicate.  They  teach  the  minds  of  men  to  consider  the  Union  as  precarious ; — as  an 
object  to  which  they  ought  not  to  attach  their  hopes  and  fortunes ; — and  thus  chill  the 
sentiment  in  its  favour.  By  alarming  the  pride  of  those  to  whom  they  are  addressed, 
they  set  ingenuity  at  work  to  depreciate  the  value  of  the  thing,  and  to  discover  reasons 
of  indifference  towards  it.  This  is  not  wise. — It  will  be  much  wiser  to  habituate  our 
selves  to  reverence  the  Union  as  the  palladium  of  our  national  happiness;  to  accommo 
date  constantly  our  words  and  actions  to  that  idea,  and  to  discountenance  whatever  may 
suggest  a  suspicion  that  it  can  in  any  event  be  abandoned.  (In  the  margin  opposite 
this  paragraph  are  the  words,  "Not  important  enough.'') — [Su/jra,  p.  194.] 

IT  our  parties  for  some  time  past  have  been  too  much  characterized  by 


APPENDIX.  235 

and  Western;  [whence  designing  men  may  endeavour  to  excite  a 
belief  that  there  is  a  real  difference  of  local  interests  and  views.]* 
One  of  the  expedients  of  Party  to  acquire  influence,  within  par 
ticular  districts,  is  to  misrepresent  the  opinions  and  aims  of  other 
districts. — You  cannot  shield  yourselves  too  much  against  the  jea 
lousies  and  heartburnings  which  spring  from  these  misrepresenta 
tions  ; — They  tend  to  render  alien  to  each  other  those  who  ought  to 
be  bound  together  by  fraternal  affection. — The  inhabitants  of  our 
Western  country  have  lately  had  a  useful  lesson  on  this  [head.Jf — 
They  have  seen,  in  the  negotiation  by  the  Executive,  and  in  the 
unanimous  ratification  by  the  Senate,  of  the  Treaty  with 
*  Spain,  and  in  the  universal  satisfaction  at  that  event, 
throughout  the  United  States,  a  decisive  proof  how  unfounded  were 
the  suspicions  propagated  among  them  of  a  policy  in  the  General 
Government  and  in  the  Atlantic  States  unfriendly  to  their  interests 
in  regard  to  the  MISSISSIPPI. — They  have  been  witnesses  to  the 
formation  of  two  Treaties,  that  with  G.  Britain,  and  that  with  Spain, 
which  secure  to  them  every  thing  they  could  desire,  in  respect  to 
our  foreign  Relations  towards  confirming  their  prosperity. — Will  it 
not  be  their  wisdom  to  rely  for  the  preservation  of  these  advantages 
on  the  UNION  by  which  they  were  procured  ? — Will  they  not  hence 
forth  be  deaf  to  those  advisers,  if  such  there  are,  who  would  sever 
them  from  their  Brethren,  and  connect  them  with  Aliens  ? — 

To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your  Union,  a  Government  for 


*  These  discriminations, the  mere  contrivance  of  the  spirit  of  Party,  (always 

dexterous  to  seize  every  handle  by  which  the  passions  can  be  wielded,  and  too  skilful 
not  to  turn  to  account  the  sympathy  of  neighbourhood,)  have  furnished  an  argument 
against  the  LTnion  as  evidence  of  a  real  difference  of  local  interests  and  views ;  and 
serve  to  hazard  it  by  organizing  larger  districts  of  country,  under  the  leaders  of  con 
tending  factions;  whose  rivalships,  prejudices  and  schemes  of  ambition,  rather  than  the 
true  interests  of  the  Country,  will  direct  the  use  of  their  influence.  If  it  be  possible  to 
correct  this  poison  in  the  habit  of  our  body  politic,  it  is  worthy  the  endeavours  of  the 
moderate  and  the  good  to  effect  it. — [Supra,  p.  195.] 

f  subject 


236  APPENDIX. 

the  whole  is  indispensable. — No  alliances  however  strict  between  the 
parts  can  be  an  adequate  substitute. — They  must  inevitably  expe 
rience  the  infractions  and  interruptions  which  all  alliances  in  all 
times  have  experienced. — Sensible  of  this  momentous  truth,  you 
have  improved  upon  your  first  essay,  by  the  adoption  of  a  Constitu 
tion  of  Government,  better  calculated  than  your  former  for  an 
intimate  Union,  and  for  the  efficacious  management  of  your  common 
concerns. — This  government,  the  offspring  of  our  own  choice  unin 
fluenced  and  unawed,  adopted  upon  full  investigation  and  mature 
deliberation,  completely  free  in  its  principles,  in  the  distribution  of 
its  powers,  uniting  security  with  energy,  and  containing  within 
itself  a  provision  for  its  own  amendment,  has  a  just  claim  to  your 
confidence  and  your  support.  Respect  for  its  authority,  compliance 
with  its  Laws,  acquiescence  in  its  measures,  are  duties  enjoined  by 
the  fundamental  maxims  of  true  Liberty. — The  basis  of  our  political 
systems  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  make  and  to  alter  their  Con 
stitutions  of  Government. — But  the  Constitution  which  at  any  time 
exists,  'till  changed  by  an  explicit  and  authentic  act  of  the  whole 
People,  is  sacredly  obligatory  upon  all. — The  very  idea  of  the  power 
and  the  right  of  the  People  to  establish  Government,  presupposes 
the  duty  of  every  individual  to  obey  the  established  Government. 

*A11  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  Laws,  all  com 
binations  and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible  cha 
racter  with  [the  real]  design  to  direct,  controul,  counteract,  or  awe 
the  regular  deliberation  and  action  of  the  constituted  authorities, 
are  destructive  of  this  fundamental  principle  and  of  fatal  ten 
dency. — They  serve  to  organize  faction,  to  give  it  an  artificial  and 
extraordinary  force — to  put,  [  *  ]  in  the  place  of  the  delegated  will 
of  the  Nation,  the  will  of  a  party; — often  a  small  but  artful  and 
enterprizing  minority  of  the  community; — and,  according  to  the 
alternate  triumphs  of  different  parties,  to  make  the  public  adminis- 


APPENDIX.  237 

tration  the  mirror  of  the  ill-concerted  and  incongruous  projects  of 
faction,  rather  than  the  organ  of  consistent  and  wholesome  plans 
digested  by  common  councils  and  modified  by  mutual  interests. — 
However  combinations  or  associations  of  the  above  description  may 
now  and  then  answer  popular  ends,  [  *  ]  they  are  likely,  in  the 
course  of  time  and  things,  to  become  potent  engines,  by  which  cun 
ning,  ambitious,  and  unprincipled  men  will  be  enabled  to  subvert 
the  Power  of  the  People  and  to  usurp  for  themselves  the  reins  of 
Government ;  destroying  afterwards  the  very  engines  which  have 
lifted  them  to  unjust  dominion. — 

Towards  the  preservation  of  your  Government,  and  the  perma 
nency  of  your  present  happy  state,  it  is  requisite,  not  only  that  you 
steadily  discountenance  irregular  oppositions  to  its  acknowledged 
authority,  but  also  that  you  resist  with  care  [thejf  spirit  of  innova 
tion  upon  its  principles  however  specious  the  pretexts. — One  method 
of  assault  may  be  to  effect,  in  the  forms  of  the  Constitution,  altera 
tions  which  will  impair  the  energy  of  the  system,  [and  thus  to]J 
undermine  what  cannot  be  directly  overthrown. — In  all  the  changes 
to  which  you  may  be  invited,  remember  that  time  and  habit  are  at 
least  as  necessary  to  fix  the  true  character  of  Governments,  as  of 
other  human  institutions — that  experience  is  the  surest  standard, 
by  which  to  test  the  real  tendency  of  the  existing  Constitution  of  a 
Country — that  facility  in  changes  upon  the  credit  of  mere  hypo 
thesis  and  opinion  exposes  *to  perpetual  change,  from  the 
endless  variety  of  hypothesis  and  opinion : — and  remember, 
especially,  that  for  the  efficient  management  of  your  common  inte 
rests,  in  a  country  so  extensive  as  ours,  a  Government  of  as  much 
vigour  as  is  consistent  with  the  perfect  security  of  Liberty  is  indis 
pensable, — Liberty  itself  will  find  in  such  a  Government,  with  powers 
properly  distributed  and  adjusted,  its  surest  Guardian. — [It  is  indeed 
little  else  than  a  name,  where  the  Government  is  too  feeble  to  with- 


*  and  purposes  fa  $  to 


238  APPENDIX. 

stand  the  enterprises  of  faction,  to  confine  each  member  of  the  So 
ciety  within  the  limits  prescribed  by  the  laws,  and  to  maintain  all 
in  the  secure  and  tranquil  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  person  and 
property.]* 

I  have  already  intimated  to  you  the  danger  of  Parties  in  the 
State,,  with  particular  reference  to  the  founding  of  them  on  Geogra 
phical  discriminations. — Let  me  now  take  a  more  comprehensive 
view,  and  warn  you  in  the  most  solemn  manner  against  the  baneful 
effects  of  the  Spirit  of  Party,  generally. 

This  Spirit,  unfortunately,  is  inseparable  from  [our]f  nature, 
having  its  root  in  the  strongest  passions  of  the  [human]  mind. — It 
exists  under  different  shapes  in  all  Governments,  more  or  less  stifled, 
controuled  or  repressed ;  but  in  those  of  the  popular  form  it  is  seen 
in  its  greatest  rankness,  and  is  truly  their  worst  enemy. — [  J  ] 

*The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction  over  another, 
[*367] 

sharpened  by  the  spirit  of  revenge  natural  to  party  dissen- 


*  Owing  to  you  as  I  do  a  frank  and  free  disclosure  of  my  heart,  I  shall  not  conceal 
from  you  the  belief  1  entertain,  that  your  Government  as  at  present  constituted  is  far 
more  likely  to  prove  too  feeble  than  too  powerful. — [Supra,  p.  198.] 

"j"  human 

J  In  Republics  of  narrow  extent,  it  is  not  difficult  for  those  who  at  any  time  hold  the 
reins  of  Power,  and  command  the  ordinary  public  favor,  to  overturn  the  established 
[constitution]*  in  favor  of  their  own  aggrandizement. — The  same  thing  may  likewise 
bs  too  often  accomplished  in  such  Republics,  by  partial  combinations  of  men,  who 
though  not  in  office,  from  birth,  riches,  or  other  sources  of  distinction,  have  extraordi 
nary  influence  and  numerous  [adherents.]! — By  debauching  the  Military  force,  by  sur 
prising  some  commanding  citadel,  or  by  some  other  sudden  aud  unforeseen  movement 
the  fate  of  the  Republic  is  decided. — But  in  Republics  of  large  extent,  usurpation  can 
scarcely  make  its  way  through  these  avenues. — The  powers  and  opportunities  of  re 
sistance  of  a  wide  extended  and  numerous  nation,  defy  the  successful  efforts  of  the 
ordinary  Military  force,  or  of  any  collections  which  wealth  and  patronage  may  call  to 
their  aid. — In  such  Republics,  it  is  safe  to  assert,  that  the  conflicts  of  popular  factions 
are  the  chief,  if  not  the  only  inlets,  of  usurpation  and  Tyranny.— [Supra,  p.  198.] 

*  order  f  retainers 


APPENDIX.  239 

sion,  which  in  different  ages  and  countries  has  perpetrated  the  most 
horrid  enormities,  is  itself  a  frightful  despotism. — But  this  leads  at 
length  to  a  more  formal  and  permanent  despotism. — The  disorders 
and  miseries,  which  result,  gradually  incline  the  minds  of  men  to 
seek  security  and  repose  in  the  absolute  power  of  an  individual : 
and  sooner  or  later  the  chief  of  some  prevailing  faction,  more  able 
or  more  fortunate  than  his  competitors,  turns  this  disposition  to  the 
purposes  of  his  own  elevation,  on  the  ruins  of  Public  Liberty. 

Without  looking  forward  to  an  extremity  of  this  kind,  (which 
nevertheless  ought  not  to  be  entirely  out  of  sight),  the  common  and 
continual  mischiefs  of  the  spirit  of  Party  are  sufficient  to  make  it 
the  interest]  and  the  duty  of  a  wise  People  to  discourage  and  re 
strain  it. — 

It  serves  always  to  distract  the  Public  Councils  and  enfeeble  the 
Public  administration. — It  agitates  the  community  with  ill-founded 
jealousies  and  false  alarms,  kindles  the  animosity  of  one  part 
against  another,  foments  occasionally  riot  and  insurrection. — It 
opens  the  door  to  foreign  influence  and  corruption,  which  find  a 
facilitated  access  [to  the  Government  itself  through  the  channels  of 
party  passions.  Thus,  the  policy  and  the  will  of  one  country,  are 
subjected  to  the  policy  and  will  of  another.]* 

There  is   an  opinion  that  parties  in  free   countries    are  useful 
checks  upon  the  Administration  of  the  Government,  and  serve  to 
keep  alive  the  Spirit  of  Liberty. — This  within  certain  limits  is  pro 
bably  true — and  in  Governments  of  a  Monarchical  cast,  Patriotism 
may  look  with  indulgence,  if  not  with  favour,  upon  *the 
spirit  of  party. — But  in  those  of  the  popular  character,  in 
Governments  purely  elective,  it  is  a  spirit  not  to  be  encouraged. — 
From  their  natural  tendency,  it  is  certain  there  will  always  be 
enough  of  that  spirit  for  every  salutary  purpose, — and  there  being 


*  through  the  channels  of  party  passions.  It  frequently  subjects  the  policy  of  our 
own  country  to  the  policy  of  some  foreign  country,  and  even  enslaves  the  will  of  our 
Government  to  the  will  of  some  foreign  Government.— [Supra,  p.  199.] 


240  APPENDIX. 

constant  danger  of  excess,  the  effort  ought  to  be,  by  force  of  public 
opinion,  to]  mitigate  and  assuage  it. — A  fire  not  to  be  quenched,  it 
demands  a  uniform  vigilance  to  prevent  its  bursting  into  a  flame, 
lest,  [instead  of  warming,  it  should]*  consume. — 

It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits  of  thinking  in  a  free 
country  should  inspire  caution  in  those  entrusted  with  its  adminis 
tration,  to  confine  themselves  within  their  respective  constitutional 
'  spheres ;  avoiding  in  the  exercise  of  the  powers  of  one  department 
to  encroach  upon  another. — The  spirit  of  encroachment  tends  to 
consolidate  the  powers  of  all  the  departments  in  one,  and  thus  to 
create,  [  f  ]  whatever  [the  form  of  government,  a  real]!  despotism. — 
A  just  estimate  of  that  love  of  power,  and  [  §  ]  proneness  to  abuse 
it,  which  predominates  in  the  human  heart,  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  us 
of  the  truth  of  this  position. — The  necessity  of  reciprocal  checks  in 
the  exercise  of  political  power,  by  dividing  and  distributing  it  into 
different  depositories,  and  constituting  each  the  Guardian  of  the 
Public  Weal  [against] ||  invasions  by  the  others,  has  been  evinced  by 
experiments  ancient  and  modern ;  some  of  them  in  our  country  and 
under  our  own  eyes. — To  preserve  them  must  be  as  necessary  as  to 
institute  them. — If  in  the  opinion  of  the  People,  the  distribution  or 
modification  of  the  Constitutional  powers  be  in  any  particular 
wrong,  let  it  be  corrected  by  an  amendment  in  the  way  which  the 
Constitution  designates. — But  let  there  be  no  change  by  usurpation ; 
for  though  this,  in  one  instance  may  be  the  instrument  of  good, 
it  is  the  [customary]Tf  weapon  by  which  free  governments  are  de 
stroyed. — The  precedent  [  **  ]  must  always  greatly  overbalance  in 
permanent  evil  any  partial  or  [transient]ff  benefit  which  the 
use  [  JJ  ]  can  at  any  time  yield. — 

*0f  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead  to  political 
t   ooy  I 

prosperity,   Religion  and  morality  are  indispensable  sup- 


*  it  should  not  only  warm,  but  |  under  J  forms  a 

§  the  [I  from  IT  usual  and  natural 

**  of  its  use  ff  temporary  ££  itself 


APPENDIX.  241 

ports. — In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the  tribute  of  Patriotism,  who 
should  labour  to  subvert  these  great  Pillars  of  human  happiness, 
these  firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  Men  and  Citizens. — The  mere 
Politician,  equally  with  the  pious  man,  ought  to  respect  and  to 
cherish  them. — A  volume  could  not  trace  all  their  connections  with 
private  and  public  felicity. — Let  it  simply  be  asked  where  is  the 
security  for  property,  for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense  of  reli 
gious  obligation  desert  the  oaths,  which  are  the  instruments  of  in 
vestigation  in  Courts  of  Justice  ?  And  let  us  with  caution  indulge 
the  supposition,  that  morality  can  be  maintained  without  religion. — 
Whatever  may  be  conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  education  on 
minds  of  peculiar  structure — reason  and  experience  both  forbid  us 
to  expect  that  national  morality  can  prevail  in  exclusion  of  religious 
principle. — 

'Tis  substantially  true  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a  necessary 
spring  of  popular  government. — The  rule  indeed  extends  with  more 
or  less  force  to  every  species  of  Free  Government. — Who  that  is  a 
sincere  friend  to  it,  can  look  with  indifference  upon  attempts  to 
shake  the  foundation  of  the  fabric  ? — 

[Promote  then  as  an  object  of  primary  importance,  institutions 
for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge. — In  proportion  as  the  struc 
ture  of  a  government  gives  force  to  public  opinion,  it  is  essential 
that  public  opinion  should  be  enlightened.] — * 

As  a  very  important  source  of  strength  and  security,  cherish 


*  Cultivate  industry  and  frugality,  as  auxiliaries  to  good  morals  and  sources  of  private 
and  public  prosperity. — Is  there  not  room  to  regret  that  our  propensity  to  expense 
exceeds  our  means  for  it?  Is  there  not  more  luxury  among  us  and  more  diffusively, 
than  suits  the  actual  stage  of  our  national  progress?  Whatever  maybe  the  apology 
for  luxury  in  a  country,  mature  in  the  Arts  which  are  its  ministers,  and  the  cause  of 
national  opulence — can  it  promote  the  advantage  of  a  young  country,  almost  wholly 
agricultural,  in  the  infancy  of  the  arts,  and  certainly  not  in  the  maturity  of  wealth?— 
[Supra,  p.  201.] 

(Over  this  paragraph  in  the  original  a  piece  of  paper  is  wafered,  on  which  the  pas 
sage  is  written  as  printed  in  the  text.) 

16 


242  APPENDIX. 

*public  credit. — One  method  of  preserving  it  is  to  use  it  as 
[sparingly]*  as  possible : — avoiding  occasions  of  expense 
by  cultivating  peace,  but  remembering  also  that  timely  disburse 
ments  to  prepare  for  danger  frequently  prevent  much  greater  dis 
bursements  to  repel  it — avoiding  likewise  the  accumulation  of  debt, 
not  only  by  [shunning]f  occasions  of  expense,  but  by  vigorous  ex 
ertions  in  time  of  Peace  to  discharge  the  debts  which  unavoidable 
wars  may  have  occasioned,  not  ungenerously  throwing  upon  poste 
rity  the  burthen  which  we  ourselves  ought  to  bear.  The  execution 
of  these  maxims  belongs  to  your  Representatives,  but  it  is  neces-. 
sary  that  public  opinion  should  [co-operate.]! — To  facilitate  to  them 
the  performance  of  their  duty,  it  is  essential  that  you  should  prac 
tically  bear  in  mind,  that  towards  the  payment  of  debts  there  must 
be  Revenue — that  to  have  Revenue  there  must  be  taxes — that  no 
taxes  can  be  devised  which  are  not  more  or  less  inconvenient  and 
unpleasant — that  the  intrinsic  embarrassment  inseparable  from  the 
selection  of  the  proper  objects  (which  is  always  a  choice  of  diffi 
culties)  ought  to  be  a  decisive  motive  for  a  candid  construction  of 
the  conduct  of  the  Government  in  making  it,  and  for  a  spirit  of 
acquiescence  in  the  measures  for  obtaining  Revenue  which  the 
public  exigencies  may  at  any  time  dictate. — 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  towards  all  Nations.  [  §  ]  Culti 
vate  peace  and  harmony  with  all. — Religion  and  morality  enjoin 
this  conduct ;  and  can  it  be  that  good  policy  does  not  equally  enjoin 
it  ? — It  will  be  worthy  of  a  free,  enlightened,  and,  at  no  distant 
period,  a  great  nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the  magnanimous  and  too 
novel  example  of  a  People  always  guided  by  an  exalted  justice  and 
benevolence. — Who  can  doubt  that  in  the  course  of  time  and  things, 
the  fruits  of  such  a  plan  would  richly  repay  any  temporary  advan- 


*  little  t  avoiding  J  coincide 

§  and  cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with  all,  for  in  public  as  well  as  in  private 

transactions,  I  am  persuaded  that  honesty  will  always  be  found  to  be  the  best  policy. — 

[Supra,  p.  202.] 


APPENDIX.  243 

tages  which  might  be  lost  by  a  steady  adherence  to  it  ?     Can  it  be 
that  Providence  has  not  connected  *the  permanent  felicity 
of  a  Nation  with  its  virtue  ?     The  experiment,  at  least,  is 
recommended  by  every  sentiment  which  ennobles  human  nature. — 
Alas  !  is  it  rendered  impossible  by  its  vices  ? 

In  the  execution  of  such  a  plan  nothing  is  more  essential  than 
that  [permanent,  inveterate]*  antipathies  against  particular  nations 
and  passionate  attachments  for  others  should  be  excluded ;  and  that 
in  place  of  them  just  and  amicable  feelings  towards  all  should  be 
cultivated. — The  Nation,  which  indulges  towards  another  [an]f 
habitual  hatred  or  [an]J  habitual  fondness,  is  in  some  degree  a 
slave.  It  is  a  slave  to  its  animosity  or  to  its  affection,  either  of 
which  is  sufficient  to  lead  it  astray  from  its  duty  and  its  interests. — 
Antipathy  in  one  Nation  against  another  [  §  ]  disposes  each  more 
readily  to  offer  insult  and  injury,  to  lay  hold  of  slight  causes  of 
umbrage,  and  to  be  haughty  and  intractable,  when  accidental  or 
trifling  occasions  of  dispute  occur. — Hence  frequent  collisions,  ob 
stinate,  envenomed,  and  bloody  contests. — The  Nation  prompted  by 
ill-will  and  resentment  sometimes  impels  to  War  the  Government, 
contrary  to  [the  best]||  calculations  of  policy.  The  Government 
sometimes  participates  in  the  [national]  propensity,  and  adopts 
through  passion  what  reason  would  reject; — at  other  times,  it  makes 
the  animosity  of  the  Nation  subservient  to  projects  of  hostility 
instigated  by  pride,  ambition,  and  other  sinister  and  pernicious 
motives.  —  The  peace  often,  sometimes  perhaps  the  Liberty,  of 
Nations,  has  been  the  victim. — 

So  likewise  a  passionate  attachment  of  one  Nation  for  another 
produces  a  variety  of  evils. — Sympathy  for  the  favourite  nation, 
facilitating  the  illusion  of  an  imaginary  common  interest  in  cases 
where  no  real  common  interest  exists,  and  infusing  into  one[Tf] 


*  rooted  fa  J  a 

§  begets  of  course  a  similar  sentiment  in  that  other,— [Supra,  p.  203.] 

||  its  own  If  another 


244  APPENDIX. 

the  enmities  of  the  other,  betrays  the  former  into  a  participation 
in  the  quarrels  and  wars  of  the  latter,  without  adequate  inducement 
or  justification  :  It  leads  also  to  concessions  to  the  favourite 
*Nation  of  privileges  denied  to  others,  which  is  apt  doubly 
to  injure  the  Nation  making  the  concessions ;  [  *  ]  by  unnecessarily 
parting  with  what  ought  to  have  been  retained,  f  and  by  exciting 
jealousy,  ill-will,  and  a  disposition  to  retaliate  in  the  parties  from 
whom  equal  privileges  are  withheld ;  and  it  gives  to  ambitious,  cor 
rupted,  or  deluded  citizens,  (who  devote  themselves  to  the  favourite 
Nation)  facility  to  betray,  or  sacrifice  the  interests  of  their  own 
country,  without  odium,  sometimes  even  with  popularity : — gilding 
with  the  appearances  of  a  virtuous  sense  of  obligation,  a  commend 
able  deference  for  public  opinion,  or  a  laudable  zeal  for  public  good, 
the  base  or  foolish  compliances  of  ambition,  corruption  or  infatua 
tion. — 

As  avenues  to  foreign  influence  in  innumerable  ways,  such  at 
tachments  are  particularly  alarming  to  the  truly  enlightened  and 
independent  patriot. — How  many  opportunities  do  they  afford  to 
tamper  with  domestic  factions,  to  practise  the  arts  of  seduction,  to 
mislead  public  opinion,  to  influence  or  awe  the  public  councils ! 
Such  an  attachment  of  a  small  or  weak,  towards  a  great  and  power 
ful  nation,  dooms  the  former  to  be  the  satellite  of  the  latter. 

Against  the  insidious  wiles  of  foreign  influence,  [I  conjure  you 
to]  believe  me,  [fellow  citizens],!  the  jealousy  of  a  free  people 
ought  to  be  [constantly]§  awake,  since  history  and  experience 
prove  that  foreign  influence  is  one  of  the  most  baneful  foes  of  Re 
publican  Government. — But  that  jealousy  to  be  useful  must  be 
impartial ;  else  it  becomes  the  instrument  of  the  very  influence  to 
be  avoided,  instead  of  a  defence  against  it. — Excessive  partiality 
for  one  foreign  nation  and  excessive  dislike  of  another,  cause  those 
whom  they  actuate  to  see  danger  only  on  one  side,  and  serve  to  veil 


Istly  f  2dly  J  my  friends,  §  incessantly 


APPENDIX.  245 

and  even  second  the  arts  of  influence  on  the  other. — Real  Patriots, 
who  may  resist  the  intrigues  of  the  favourite,  are  liable  to  become 
suspected  and  odious ;  while  its  tools  and  dupes  usurp  the  applause 
and  confidence  of  the  people,  to  surrender  their  interests. — 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us,  in  regard  to  foreign  Nations 
*is,  [in  extending  our  commercial  relations],  to  have  with 
them  as  little  Political  connection  as  possible. — So  far  as 
we  have  already  formed  engagements  let  them  be  fulfilled  with  [  *  ] 
perfect  good  faith. — Here  let  us  stop. — 

Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us  have  none,  or 
a  very  remote  relation. — Hence  she  must  be  engaged  in  frequent 
controversies,  the  causes  of  which  are  essentially  foreign  to  our  con 
cerns. — Hence  therefore  it  must  be  unwise  in  us  to  implicate  our 
selves  by  [  f  ]  artificial  [ties]J  in  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  her 
politics,  [or]§  the  ordinary  combinations  and  collisions  of  her 
friendships,  or  enmities. 

Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invites  and  enables  us  to 
pursue  a  different  course.  —  If  we  remain  one  people,  under  an 
efficient  government,  the  period  is  not  far  off,  when  we  may  defy 
material  injury  from  external  annoyance ;  when  we  may  take  such 
an  attitude  as  will  cause  the  neutrality  we  may  at  any  time  resolve 
[upon]!]  to  be  scrupulously  respected. — When[T]  belligerent  na 
tions,  under  the  impossibility  of  making  acquisitions  upon  us,  will 
[not]  lightly  hazard  the  giving  us  provocation  [  **  ] ;  when  we 
may  choose  peace  or  war,  as  our  interest  guided  by  [ft]  justice 
shall  counsel. — 

Why  forego  the  advantages  of  so  peculiar  a  situation? — Why 
quit  our  own  to  stand  upon  foreign  ground  ? — Why,  by  interweav 
ing  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part  of  Europe,  entangle  our  peace 


*  circumspection  indeed,  but  with  -f  an 

J  connection  §  in  ||  to  observe  IT  neither  of  two 

**  to  throw  our  weight  into  the  opposite  scale;  ff  our 


246  APPENDIX. 

and  prosperity  in  the  toils  of  European  ambition,  rivalship,  interest, 
humour,  or  caprice  ? — 

'Tis  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of  permanent  alliances  [*] 
with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world ; — so  far,  I  mean,  as  we  are 
now  at  liberty  to  do  it — for  let  me  not  be  understood  as  capable 
of  patronizing  infidelity  to  [existing]f  engagements,  ([I  hold  the 
maxim  no  less  applicable  to  public  than  to  private  affairs]J,  that 
*honesty  is  [always]  the  best  policy). — [I  repeat  it  there 
fore,  let  those  engagements]§  be  observed  in  their  genuine 
sense. — But  in  my  opinion  it  is  unnecessary  and  would  be  unwise  to 
extend  them. — 

Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable  establishments, 
on  a  respectably  defensive  posture,  we  may  safely  trust  to  [tempo 
rary]  ||  alliances  for  extraordinary  emergencies. 

Harmony,  liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations,  are  recommended 
by  policy,  humanity  and  interest. — But  even  our  commercial  policy 
should  hold  an  equal  and  impartial  hand : — neither  seeking  nor 
granting  exclusive  favours  or  preferences ; — consulting  the  natural 
course  of  things ; — diffusing  and  diversifying  by  gentle  means  the 
streams  of  commerce,  but  forcing  nothing;  —  establishing  with 
Powers  so  disposed — in  order  to  give  to  trade  a  stable  course,  to 
define  the  rights  of  our  Merchants  and  to  enable  the  Government 
to  support  them — conventional  rules  of  intercourse,  the  best  that 
present  circumstances  and  mutual  opinion  will  permit ;  but  tempo 
rary,  and  liable  to  be  from  time  to  time  abandoned  or  varied,  as 
experience  and  circumstances  shall  dictate ;  constantly  keeping  in 
view,  that  'tis  folly  in  one  nation  to  look  for  disinterested  favors 
[from]Tf  another, — that  it  must  pay  with  a  portion  of  its  indepen 
dence  for  whatever  it  may  accept  under  that  character — that  by 
such  acceptance,  it  may  place  itself  in  the  condition  of  having 


*  intimate  connections  t  pre-existing 

J  for  I  hold  it  to  be  as  true  in  public  as  in  private  transactions, 

§  those  must  ||  occasional  IT  at 


APPENDIX.  247 

given  equivalents  for  nominal  favours  and  yet  of  being  reproached 
with  ingratitude  for  not  giving  more. — There  can  be  no  greater 
error  than  to  expect,  or  calculate  upon  real  favours  from  Nation  to 
Nation. — 'Tis  an  illusion  which  experience  must  cure,  which  a  just 
pride  ought  to  discard. 

In  offering  to  you,  my  Countrymen,  these  counsels  of  an  old  and 
affectionate  friend,  I  dare  not  hope  they  will  make  the  strong  and 
lasting  impression,  I  could  wish, — that  they  will  controul  the  usual 
current  of  the  passions  or  prevent  our  Nation  from  running  the 
course  which  has  hitherto  marked  the  destiny  of  Nations. — But  if 
I  may  even  flatter  myself,  that  they  may  be  productive  of 
*some  partial  benefit ;  some  occasional  good  ;  that  they 
may  now  and  then  recur  to  moderate  the  fury  of  party  spirit,  to 
warn  against  the  mischiefs  of  foreign  intrigue,  to  guard  against  the 
impostures  of  pretended  patriotism,  this  hope  will  be  a  full  recom 
pense  for  the  solicitude  for  your  welfare,  by  which  they  have  been 
dictated. — 

How  far  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties,  I  have  been  guided 
by  the  principles  which  have  been  delineated,  the  public  Records 
and  other  evidences  of  my  conduct  must  witness  to  You,  and  to  the 
World. — To  myself,  the  assurance  of  my  own  conscience  is,  that  I 
have  at  least  believed  myself  to  be  guided  by  them. 

In  relation  to  the  still  subsisting  War  in  Europe,  my  Proclama 
tion  of  the  22d  of  April  1793  is  the  index  to  my  plan. — Sanctioned 
by  your  approving  voice  and  by  that  of  Your  Representatives  in 
both  Houses  of  Congress,  the  spirit  of  that  measure  has  continually 
governed  me  : — uninfluenced  by  any  attempts  to  deter  or  divert  me 
from  it. 

After  deliberate  examination  with  the  aid  of  the  best  lights  I 
could  obtain,  [  *  ]  I  was  well  satisfied  that  our  country,  under  all  the 


*  (and  from  men  disagreeing  in  their  impressions  of  the  origin,  progress,  and  nature 
of  that  war,)— [Swpra,  p.  207.] 


248  APPENDIX. 

circumstances  of  the  case,  had  a  right  to  take,  and  was  bound  in 
duty  and  interest,  to  take  a  Neutral  position. — Having  taken  it,  I 
determined,  as  far  as  should  depend  upon  me,  to  maintain  it,  with 
moderation,  perseverance,  and  firmness. — 

[The  considerations  which  respect  the  right  to  hold  this  conduct, 
[it  is  not  necessary]*  on  this  occasion  [to  detail.]  I  will  only  ob 
serve,  that  according  to  my  understanding  of  the  matter,  that  right, 
so  far  from  being  denied  by  any  of  the  Belligerent  Powers,  has 
been  virtually  admitted  by  all. — ]f 

The  duty  of  holding  a  neutral  conduct  may  be  inferred,  without 
*anything  more,  from  the  obligation  which  justice  and  hu 
manity  impose  on  every  Nation,  in  cases  in  which  it  is  free 
to  act,  to  maintain  inviolate  the  relations  of  Peace  and  Amity 
towards  other  Nations. — 

The  inducements  of  interest  for  observing  that  conduct,  will  best 

be  referred  to  your  own  reflections  and  experience. With  me,  a 

predominant  motive  has  been  to  endeavour  to  gain  time  to  our 
country  to  settle  and  mature  its  yet  recent  institutions,  and  to  pro 
gress  without  interruption  to  that  degree  of  strength  and  consist 
ency,  which  is  necessary  to  give  it,  humanly  speaking,  the  command 
of  its  own  fortunes. 


*  some  of  them  of  a  delicate  nature  would  be  improperly  the  subject  of  explanation. 

« 

t  The  considerations  which  respect  the  right  to  hold  this  conduct,  some  of  them  of  a 
delicate  nature,  would  be  improperly  the  subject  of  explanation  on  this  occasion.  I 
will  barely  observe  that  according  to  my  understanding  of  the  matter,  that  right  so  far 
from  being  denied  by  any  belligerent  Power,  has  been  virtually  admitted  by  all. — 

This  paragraph  is  then  erased  from  the  word  "  conduct,"  and  the  following  sentence 
interlined,  "  would  be  improperly  the  subject  of  particular  discussion  on  this  occasion. 
I  will  barely  observe  that  to  me  they  appear  to  be  warranted  by  well-established  prin 
ciples  of  the  Laws  of  Nations  as  applicable  to  the  nature  of  our  alliance  with  France 
in  connection  with  the  circumstances  of  the  War,  and  the  relative  situation  of  the 
contending  Parties." 

A  piece  of  paper  is  afterwards  wafered  over  both,  on  which  the  paragraph  as  it 
stands  in  the  text  is  written,  and  on  the  margin  is  the  following  note :  "  This  is  the  first 
draft,  and  it  is  questionable  which  of  the  two  is  to  be  preferred." 


APPENDIX.  249 

Though  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  Administration,  I  am 
unconscious  of  intentional  error — I  am  nevertheless  too  sensible  of 
my  defects  not  to  think  it  probable  that  I  [may]  have  committed 
many  errors. — [Whatever  they  may  be  I]*  fervently  beseech  the 
Almighty  to  avert  or  mitigate  [the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend.]f 
— I  shall  also  carry  with  me  the  hope  that  my  country  will  never 
cease  to  view  them  with  indulgence ;  and  that  after  forty-five  years 
of  my  life  dedicated  to  its  service,  with  an  upright  zeal,  the  faults 
of  incompetent  abilities  will  be  consigned  to  oblivion,  as  myself 
must  soon  be  to  the  mansions  of  rest.  [  J  ] 

*Relying  on  its  kindness  in  this  as  in  other  things,  and 
actuated   by   that   fervent   love   towards   it,   wThich   is   so 
natural  to  a  man,  who  views  in  it  the  native  soil  of  himself  and 
his   progenitors    for    [several]  §   generations ;  —  I   anticipate   with 
pleasing  expectation  that  retreat,  in  which  I  promise  myself  to 
realize,  without  alloy,  the  sweet  enjoyment  of  partaking,  in  the 
midst  of  my  fellow  citizens,  the  benign  influence  of  good  Laws 
under  a  free  Government, — the  ever  favourite  object  of  my  heart, 


*  I  deprecate  the  evils  to  which  they  may  tend,  and — [Supra}  p.  207.] 

f  them 

J  May  I  without  the  charge  of  ostentation  add,  that  neither  ambition  nor  interest  has 
been  the  impelling  cause  of  my  actions — that  I  have  never  designedly  misused  any 
power  confided  to  me  nor  hesitated  to  use  one,  where  I  thought  it  could  redound  to 
your  benefit?  May  I  without  the  appearance  of  affectation  say,  that  the  fortune  with 
which  I  came  into  office  is  not  bettered  otherwise  than  by  the  improvement  in  the 
value  of  property  which  the  quick  progress  and  uncommon  prosperity  of  our  country 
have  produced  ?  May  I  still  further  add  without  breach  of  delicacy,  that  I  shall  retire 
without  cause  for  a  blush,  with  no  sentiments  alien  to  the  force  of  those  vows  for  the 
happiness  of  his  country  so  natural  to  a  citizen  who  sees  in  it  the  native  soil  of  his 
progenitors  and  himself  for  four  generations  ? — [Supra,  p.  208.] 

On  the  margin  opposite  this  paragraph  is  the  following  note:  "This  paragraph  may 
have  the  appearance  of  self-distrust  and  mere  vanity." 

§  four 

17 


250  APPENDIX, 

and  the  happy  reward,  as  I  trust,  of  our  mutual  cares,  labours, 
and  dangers.  [  *  ] — [Supra,  p.  190.] 

G^  WASHINGTON. 

UNITED  STATES,  j 
Vlih  September,  J 


*  The  paragraph  beginning  with  the  words,  "  May  I  without  the  charge  of  ostentation 
add,"  having  been  struck  out,  the  following  note  is  written  on  the  margin  of  that  which 
is  inserted  in  its  place  in  the  text : — "  Continuation  of  the  paragraph  preceding  the  last 
ending  with  the  word  '  rest.'  " 


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